Shattered Mind: Issues
by Krimson Rogue
Summary: My name is Trevor. Being sent to Gaia was fun at first, but it got really bad when I became the target of a Terran experiment. It got worse when I understood what that experiment was.
1. Introduction

Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story. I only own Trevor…so far.

Author's notes- I've been planning this for a while and since Brothers of Terra is done, I can devote more attention to it. Also, there are some sword terms I'll use that I suspect many people won't know. So, I'll try to describe them as best I can. If it isn't clear enough, please let me know.

Krimson- Yay! Another story!

Rashnefein- It's funny that you would start a new story now. Brothers of Terra is still listed as incomplete.

Krimson- Heheh. I know.

Damien- You're just going to make them wait for it?

Krimson- Yup!

Damien- You're as evil as I am.

Krimson- A side note. I'm doing this instead of continuing a Naruto story I was writing, so you readers should really appreciate what I'm doing for you by thinking of you all first. Please reward with reviews.

Rashnefein- I'm gonna go steal Damien's coffee again.

Damien- DAMN YOU!!!

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It was another cloudy day on campus. I stared up at the sky as I walked back to my dorm. It looked like it was about to rain, as usual. I don't think I had seen a blue sky in months; it was always some ugly shade of gray. It felt somewhat fitting at the time though. My father really let me have it earlier. My grades were horrible.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Three C's and a D?" my father yelled at me. It made sense for him to be pissed off. College was expensive._

"_I have an A in Tai Chi." I said, trying my best to calm him down. Of course, the only thing we got graded on in that class was a two page paper on the history of Tai Chi. Even so, I had been doing it for a year and was pretty good at it if I do say so myself._

"_That's not an academic!" he bellowed. "Trevor, I want you to go study from now until you go to bed!"_

_I couldn't fight him on this. If I argued too much he might threaten to cut off my tuition. "Yeah, alright." I sighed. "Dad, I'm gonna go get something to eat." I said, trying to sound more upbeat._

"_Okay. I'll talk to you later."_

"_Bye."_

_END FLASHBACK_

My father wasn't a bad person, he could just be a little harsh at times. He meant well, but I wasn't really in the mood to do anything. Especially not study.

If that wasn't enough, it was November, the month that my mother's brother and sister died. It was a tough month for everyone. I met my uncle only a few times. He was nice. He even bought me a mini synthesizer when I was four. He died a few months later. I never had the opportunity to meet my aunt.

The wind blew my hair in my face from behind me. I hated when it did that. If I had shorter hair it might not have been so problematic, but my hair grew below my shoulder blades. I hated having short hair. I couldn't keep it short because whenever I did, it would curl up on me. I hated having curly hair. I preferred my wavy hair.

I walked past the field where Sword Club met. I wished it was Friday so that I could vent some of this frustration in combat. Sword club was a group my friends and I started out of our love of swords and medieval combat. We only met on Tuesdays and Fridays. And here I was, stuck in Wednesday.

Also, if it was Friday, the next day would be Saturday and that meant pancakes for breakfast. Pancakes always were and always will be my anti-drug. Mostly because they were more like a drug for me in the first place. My roommate suggested that I check myself into rehab after I managed to load twenty-five pancakes onto my plate on one occasion, which I promptly ate.

I looked back up to the sky just as a raindrop fell in my eye. Great, it was raining. _And here I am, five minutes from my dorm. _If it weren't for the classes, the stress, the bad food, and the endless supply of drunken morons, college might have been fun. I just sighed as I headed for the campus pizzeria.

----------------

I walked into my room, finishing my slice of what could pass for pizza. It was really just crust with cheese on it. And the sauce is the best part of a pizza. Oh well. As long as it didn't kill me.

"Hey." my roommate said. He was busy watching anime on his computer. I didn't bother asking which one. "Oi." I responded blandly. He paused his show and looked up.

"Rough day?" he asked.

"Mmmf." I ate the last bit of crust from my pizza and sat on the edge of my bed. "My father saw my grades." I explained.

"Ooh, ouch."

He knew about my grades since I always complained about them. I guess I really was at fault for not studying enough, but dammit! Studying was hard. I got distracted too easily. Bloody ADD.

I laid down on my bed and tried to relax. It was hard to do considering the guilt trip my father put me through. I hated days like this. Normally, I was the laidback, somewhat goofy, quiet guy of the group. But now…eh, oh well. I closed my eyes and settled in for a quick nap. Before too long, I was asleep.

----------------

I had an odd dream.

I was floating above a ship. Or at least, it looked like a ship. It had propellers on top and was way too flashy for a normal ship. It was docked in…wait, that can't be right.

It was sitting in a small pool of water. It had no access to the sea. _Why would someone build a ship in a place like this? _I had weird dreams.

I felt the wind blow in my hair as I started falling closer and closer to the water. Oh boy. A falling dream. I watched as the water approached me at an alarming rate. I closed my eyes, ready to wake up when I hit-

There was a sudden rush of cold as I fell under the water's surface. My pulse quickened. I looked around and saw the bottom of the ship. I coughed and the rest of my air escaped in little bubbles. I watched as they raced toward the surface.

_Alright. This is getting a little too real._

My lungs started to burn. They hurt. Why did they hurt? If this was a dream, why did they hurt?

Dream or not, I swam up, towards air. My arms quickly became heated and tired. The lack of oxygen was already getting to me. Just as I felt myself succumbing to unconsciousness, I broke the surface of the water. My breaths were quick and shallow. I floated on top of the water as I got a feeling for my surroundings.

_Okay, I'm floating in a pool next to the weirdest ship I've ever seen after I fell from the sky for no good reason. Peachy._

Wasting my time here was getting me nowhere. I gathered my strength and swam to the ship's side, looking for a way in. After a few seconds I found an open window. I managed to pull myself in, although with some difficulty. Hey, you try climbing in a three foot high window while swimming in a pool.

I fell into what looked like a boiler room. There was huge tank next to me with pipes leading to different parts of the ship. There was also a stairway leading up another floor. All in all, the room was huge.

My clothes were soaked. I tried to wring out my shirt, but there was just so much I could do. I found a wall to lean against and decided to rest. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I figured that if I got some rest I might be able to sort things out later. Maybe I wasn't that far away from campus. Although, whoever did this to me would rue they day they decided to get drunk/stoned/whatever else, and do all this to me.

I didn't get much of a chance to rest because I heard a loud clang after a minute. Followed by another one. Then a third. It didn't sound like something that a boiler should be making. I sat up to check it out, but I backed off when I heard the voices from the second floor.

"Wow, you're really athletic, Princess. I think I'm falling for you!"

"This is nothing. I have been training to escape the castle, after all."

_Wait, I know those lines._

"What a waste. If only you weren't a princess..."

"We have no time for idle banter. Come, let us move on!"

Those lines were from Final Fantasy 9. I played that game more times than I can remember. But…there was no way this way real. Someone must've been setting me up.

I was about to follow them when I remembered something. I ran back into the shadows as a Pluto Knight jumped onto the boiler and ran after the people who were just here talking. Better safe then sorry, but if I was right, then that was Blank. I ran up the stairs and pressed myself against the wall next to the doorframe. I heard voices from the next room.

"You can just..." That must have been Zidane.

"...leave the princess..." That one was Cinna.

"...to us!" That was Zidane, Cinna and Blank together.

The sounds of battle echoed through the room. Metal clashed against metal as the members of Tantalus fought to keep the Princess of Alexandria under their protection.

What was I thinking? I was taking everything too seriously. This was just some dumb trick that someone was playing on me. At some point soon, everyone involved was going to jump out and yell "We got you Trevor!" I'd smack them upside the head for throwing me in a pool, then we'd all have a nice laugh and go get takeout or something.

I heard an explosion and what sounded like metal crashing to the ground from the next room, followed by "N-NO!!! I hate oglops!"

I took a chance and looked through the doorway. Cinna, Blank and Steiner were all running around trying to avoid a bunch of giant bugs. _I don't believe it! They really look like the game characters_. Zidane grabbed a hooded girl's arm and ran out of the room. One of the oglops bounced towards me and I caught it in my hand. I examined it to make sure it was real. It wriggled in my grasp as I tried to accept what I was seeing.

_This is impossible. This is biologically impossible. How the hell…? _Whoever was setting this up was doing a hell of a good job.

I let the oglop go and turned back to see what was going on in the room. Most of the other oglops were gone, probably crawled into the floorboards. Only Blank was left in the room. He dusted himself off and hung his sword on a wall, possibly so that it wouldn't rattle around later. He ran up a stairway on the left of the room. I walked up to the sword and took it off the wall. It was a two-handed broadsword. Perfect. Just what we train with in Sword Club. Checking the edges, I found the blade to be quite sharp. This sword was battle ready. I took it and looked around for some way up to the stage. The only way I could see looked like the stairs Blank just took.

I crept up the stairway as quietly as I could. Even if this was some very elaborate trick and I was going to have to kick someone's ass later, I decided it was better to go out and look good in a fight.

Ugh. I guess I had too much testosterone in my system.

I looked out on stage and saw Marcus locking swords with one of the Pluto Knights. Zidane was busy with Steiner. I didn't see the other Pluto Knight anywhere. They probably took care of him already. Vivi and Garnet were standing back. Vivi was shaking. From fear I assumed. Garnet seemed to be yelling at Steiner, but whatever she was saying, I couldn't hear it over the audience. They seemed to enjoy the fight.

Suddenly, Marcus broke through the Pluto Knight's defense and was able to land a serious blow to his gut. He then used the pommel of his sword (AN: the tip of the handle) to hit the knight in the head and knock him on his back. The Pluto Knight struggled to his feet. "M-my wrath ends here." He ran faster than I thought possible in that armor. That was Haagen's line. With him gone, only Steiner was left. Fortunately for me, Zidane backed off and regrouped with Marcus.

My turn.

I rushed out on stage, holding the sword low and at my side. As I passed Zidane and Marcus, I raised the sword above my head and swung it down, hard at my feet. I pole vaulted and kicked Steiner square in the chest. He fell back and almost slid off the stage.

I pried my sword loose and slung it over my shoulder with my right arm while my pocketing my left. I went over a checklist in my head. _Blue jeans, dark blue shirt, awesome hair, cool sword, and a great entrance. Yes, I look good._ I turned to face Zidane and the others. "Oi" I said in my usual greeting, with a smirk.

"Who the hell are you?" Zidane asked bluntly.

A part of me died right there. I just gave the coolest entrance I could and all I got was a response that was as cold as can be. Bloody hell.

I was about to answer when the ship started to take off. We all tried to get decent footing for the less than graceful take off. Everyone stood low so they could keep their balance better. All except poor Vivi. He was stuck on his stomach, digging his staff into the stage floor to stay in place. Rather than stand around doing nothing, I ran to his side and grabbed the back of his coat and pulled him to his feet.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. Thanks mister." he said as he looked right at me. Now, let me tell you, Black Mages don't look nearly as weird as you might think. What with his hat and all, it looked more like his face was just covered in shadow.

"Please, call me Trevor." Yay! I introduced myself to someone!

"I'm Vivi."

"Nice to meet you Vivi." I was becoming more convinced that this wasn't a trick. I was still a little skeptical since everything could be explained on one level or another. If something else really bad happened, I might be fully convinced.

As if on cue, Brahne brought out the harpoons and had them fired at the ship. One of them nearly hit Garnet, but Zidane, being the hero that he was, pulled her back in the nick of time.

Steiner stood up over on stage right. Apparently a kick to the chest wasn't enough. With all that armor it shouldn't come as a surprise.

Zidane, Marcus and myself stood between Steiner and the princess. Vivi stood next to Garnet, gripping his staff tightly, although I couldn't tell if he was trying to protect her or get comfort from her. It didn't matter, because at that very moment, Brahne launched a cannon ball towards the ship. It stopped in mid air and caught fire. I swear, the thing laughed before it flew behind Steiner and started growing. I don't know how he couldn't know that it was there.

"Hey, look behind you!" Zidane yelled.

Steiner looked at us all with contempt. "I'll not fall for such an old trick!" He stood in a Zorn-hut stance, with the tip of his sword pointing up and the cross guard next to his ear. With a yell he charged.

"Please, Steiner! Behind you!" Garnet yelled from behind us. I don't think Steiner even heard her.

"Surrender at once!" he demanded. His sword came down and made contact with Marcus' sword. They both held each other in place while Zidane and I ran in to surround Steiner. Zidane ran around to Steiner's right side while I took the left.

"It's a bomb!" Vivi yelled. I turned and saw it. The bomb had grown to the size of a small car. It could explode at any second.

"It's gonna blow!" Marcus warned. The bomb crossed its arms and the flames on the top of its head flew into the sky.

"Get down!" I yelled. Everyone backed away from the bomb and laid down on the floor. Steiner finally realized what was going on and fell backwards when he saw the bomb about to go off in his face.

Have you ever been around something so loud you heard a high pitched ring and started worrying if that meant you were going to go deaf? I mean really worrying? Yeah. That's what I felt.

The smoke cleared and I could see Brahne becoming smaller and smaller in the distance, which, in every conceivable way, is a good thing. I plunged my sword into the stage and rested against it. I still haven't gotten a chance to rest since I go here. If everything followed the game, then we would be crashing into Evil Forest in a few minutes. I should rest up.

I went over everything in my mind. _I can feel pain, so this isn't a dream. And someone could've been killed in that fight. It's too risky to set that up, so it might really be real._

Maybe I really was trapped in the game.


	2. Plane Crash

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Chapter 2: Plane Crash

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We all sat on the stage, trying to calm down. Zidane was comforting Garnet. He had his arm around her shoulder. He was probably hitting on her too. Steiner stared off in the distance as Alexandria became smaller. Marcus had gone inside the ship to see what he could do to help keep the Prima Vista in the air. Vivi was sitting by himself, hugging his knees to his chest. He seemed scared. Obviously, the best thing to do was to try to help him.

"Hey Vivi!" I called, still resting on my sword. "You alright?"

He looked back at me. He had a really small expression on his face, if that makes any sense. "I'm okay." He turned back to stare out at Alexandria. I could tell he was afraid. He wasn't used to fighting, and that explosion from the bomb was pretty intense. Fortunately, no one was really hurt.

"Hey, can everyone gather around?"

I turned and saw Zidane standing with Garnet. Vivi and I stood up and joined the slowly forming circle. Steiner snapped out of it and joined us as well.

"Alright, we're headed for Lindblum right now. Is that okay with you two?" He was talking to Vivi and me.

"Fine by me." I said. I knew that we weren't going to make it that far, but I kept that info to myself.

"Y-yes." Vivi said nervously.

"NO!" Steiner interrupted. "The princess will return to the castle. Turn this ship around immediately!"

"No can do Rusty." Zidane said. I chuckled at that. Ignoring Steiner, Zidane turned to the rest of us. "By the way, my name is Zidane. Nice to meet you guys."

"Hi." Vivi said. It sounded like he was relaxing a little.

"Nice to meet you." I said. Had to be polite.

"My name is Princess Garnet Til Alexandros. It is a pleasure." she with a bow. Another round of 'Hello's' went around. "This is the Captain of the Knights of Pluto, Adelbert Steiner." she continued. Vivi was the only one to say 'Hi'. I waved and Zidane rolled his eyes.

Vivi was next in the circle. "My name is Vivi." he said. Zidane said 'hey', Garnet bowed and said hello (with a giggle), and Steiner just glared, although he seemed to do it with respect. He adjusted his hat a little. Force of habit I guess. Finally, my turn.

"I'm-"

I got cut off as an explosion sounded throughout the ship. One of the propellers blew off and fell to the trees below. The ship started falling at an alarming rate. Blank ran to the doorway on stage and yelled something, but I couldn't hear. "What?" I yelled. He cupped a hand over his mouth.

"HANG ONTO SOMETHING!"

The bottom of the Prima Vista started scratching the treetops. It shook violently as it sank lower into the forest. I saw Zidane fall off as the stage shook. Well, that explained him. Now what was going to happen to me?

I didn't have to wait long. Soon afterwards the ship knocked me off too.

I looked below me. There was a small river underneath me. Why did I keep falling into water from really big heights? I curled myself into a ball as best I could and got ready for another water landing.

----------------

I woke up with mud in my hair, dirty water in my mouth, and a stick jabbing itself into my stomach. Now all I needed was to have crashed my head on a rock and my day would be complete. I pushed against the ground and brushed some of the mud out of my hair. I looked around to get my bearings straight…oh. My head did land on a rock. There was a bump on the top of my head where it was hit. I'd have to get a potion for that later.

I stood up and looked around. There was the river I was standing in, surrounded by the usual forest décor. Dead leaves as far as the eye can see. Trees. Rocks. A Fang.

…

Ah crap.

Yeah, a Fang was looking right at me. Obviously thinking: dinner! But it sucks for the Fang. As long as I had a sword I was…

Where was my sword?

I must've dropped it when I fell off the ship. The Fang stepped closer. I didn't have a choice.

I ran in the other direction as fast as I could. _Dammit! If I had any kind of a weapon, this thing would be dead!_ I was a weapons fighter, not a hand to hand fighter. Even a sturdy stick would do. I realized that if I didn't do something soon, I was going to die before the game even started. How much would that suck?

I ran along the bank of the river as fast as I could, frantically looking for something I could use as a weapon. I passed plenty on sticks, but they were either too short, too dry or too thin. Nothing was useful. All I could do was climb a tree.

I saw a small pine tree not too far away. I glanced behind myself. The Fang was just ten feet behind. I bolted for the tree and jumped as high as I could. I somehow managed to grab a branch and pull myself up to safety. I looked back down. The Fang was clawing the trunk of the tree, trying to climb up too.

I let out a sigh of relief. As long as I was in this tree I was…_What's that cracking sound?_

And now, to prove that the wretched Fates hated me, the tree broke while I was sitting in it. I fell with the trunk underneath me. I landed with a cough as I hit the cold dirt. The Fang redirected its attention and slowly approached me. _Fine_, I thought. _If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna go out fighting._

I fell back into a balanced fighting stance. I wasn't great at hand to hand, but I still had my Tai Chi. The monster rushed. I got ready for impact.

The Fang screamed in pain. I lowered my guard.

Steiner stood with his sword resting on the Fang's corpse. He just happened to pierce deep into its gut as it charged me. I couldn't help but smile.

"Steiner! That was awesome!" If I wasn't careful, someone would mistake me for a fanboy. Ugh.

Steiner turned to face me with a look of contempt. He stomped his way over to me and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and pulled me off the ground slightly. "Listen you ruffian! You're at fault that the princess is missing, so you're going to help me find her."

I returned his look of contempt and grabbed his wrist. "Let go of my shirt."

"How dare you order me around!"

"Let go of my shirt."

"I have every intention of seeing you in prison!"

"Dammit! Let go of my shirt!"

"No!"

"I'll help you out, but only if you let go of my shirt!" I think that one got through to him. He loosened his grip and finally let my shirt go. I brushed my chest where it was scratched by his metal gauntlets. Okay, I had a party going. Now I needed a weapon. I looked at the part of the pine tree that I fell with.

"Steiner. Let me see your sword for a minute."

"What? How dare you try to order me around! Again!" Geez was he excitable. I had a theatre teacher like him in high school. He ended up driving the theatre department into the ground because he didn't want to listen to any new ideas. Last time I checked, only the actors' parents were going to the plays. Considering how many people the theatre could hold, that's pretty bad.

"I'm not much use without a weapon. If you let me use your sword I can make a club out of this tree."

He looked at me suspiciously. "How do I know you won't take it and run off?"

"We're in the middle of Evil Forest. I know this place's reputation. I don't think I'll get very far on my own."

He brought his hand up and rested it on his chin. "How do I know you won't betray me?"

I guess he had me there. Logic stated that I didn't have much of a choice but to team up with someone. But how many times have I seen logic die right in front of me?

"Look, right now, the most important thing to do is to find the others and make a plan from there. Now, all I'm asking is that you let me use your sword for thirty seconds so that I can make a temporary weapon so that I won't be defenseless. Now please, the sooner we do this, the sooner we can save Princess Garnet."

His expression didn't change at all. I didn't think my speech worked at first, but he stuck his out his hand with his sword. I nodded a 'thank you' as I took it. It was notably heavier than the sword I was using earlier, but I guess that's to be expected considering Steiner's size.

A few slashes later and I had a spiky four foot club resting on my shoulder. I had cut the braches into points so they could do more damage. The spikes were only a few inches in length. If they were too long, they would just snap on impact. I handed Steiner's sword back to him.

"All right. Any idea where to go from here?" I asked. He pointed to my left. "Smoke is rising from over there. That must be the crash site." If I knew where the crash site was, I could find Garnet no problem.

"Alright. Let's go."


	3. Boss Fight! Prison Cage

Disclaimer: I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Definitions

L stance- Position held when a person's feet stand wide and perpendicular to each other. For example, if a person was wearing skis in this stance, the skis would form an 'L'.

Author's note: I wanted to officially thank my first reviewers for this story: minkeypaws and Lizette Cruz. They are very awesome and should be regarded with respect. Of course, I may be a little biased.

Chapter 3: Boss Fight! Prison Cage.

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We ran through the woods at top speed. Steiner's armor scratched together the whole way. It got really annoying. Really annoying. Like the whole nails on a chalkboard thing. As if that wasn't enough, the spikes from my hastily created club drove themselves into my back. Why don't I ever think things through?

Leaves and twigs cracked underneath our footsteps. The foliage got heavier as the stream got wider. Steiner was unusually quiet the entire run. I wasn't complaining mind you, but it was kind of creepy. It was like walking with a serial killer. I knew he wanted to kill me for kidnapping the princess, but he couldn't due to his duty to throw me in prison. Just my luck.

Steiner crashed through some small bushes and we came to a shallow section of the river. I recognized this place. The crash site was to our left and Garnet and Vivi would be off to the right.

"Nice! It's this way!" I started to run off without any explanation.

"Where are you going?" Steiner yelled. "The princess is this way." He pointed again to the rising smoke in the next clearing.

If things were going to be like the game, no she wasn't. I didn't know how to explain it to him. "Trust me, she got thrown off the ship too. I saw her go this way."

"You lie." Well put Rusty.

It didn't matter what I did, he wasn't going to listen to me. I did the only thing I could do.

"Bye!" I turned and ran. If this didn't get him running this way, then nothing would. I risked a glance back to see if my plan worked.

Steiner was running after me with his sword drawn over his head, ready to crack my skull open at any moment.

_Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap! This is worse than the Fang! _The club weighing itself down on my back really didn't help either.

We rounded the corner as a high pitched scream resounded throughout the woods. "That's gotta be the princess!" I yelled back. Steiner stopped his homicidal charge as he heard the scream. Good news for me.

We came to a clearing as a Prison Cage righted itself up. It looked like a big brown balloon. It turned to face us and we could see Garnet captured in its…what are those? Leaves? Flaps?

Whatever. Garnet was trapped and had to be rescued.

Vivi was shaking as he backed away from it. Poor guy was terrified.

I lifted my club off of my back and got into an L stance so that I could properly balance myself.

"What is that beast?" Steiner asked. His voice was practically bleeding with concern.

"Doesn't matter." I told him. "We have to kill it." _Dammit Zidane. Where are you?_

Zidane came running around the corner just in time. I could hear him gasp as he saw the situation we were in.

"Sh-She's in trouble..." Vivi reminded us.

"...What the hell is that?" Zidane asked as he ran to join Steiner and me.

"Release the princess at once!!!" Steiner demanded.

"Yeah, like it's gonna actually listen to you." Zidane said. "Come on!"

A small spark of light emitted from Zidane, followed by several more. Pretty soon, he was covered in light and emerged, glowing a soft shade of pink.

"W-what is that light?" Steiner asked.

"I don't know." Zidane answered. "It somehow raises my power."

"It must be Trance!" Steiner realized. "It's caused by a huge surge of emotion."

_Is this really the time to be having this conversation?_

The Prison Cage interrupted by smashing a tentacle where we were just standing. We broke formation and charged separately. Steiner attacked it head on, which was, of course, a mistake. He was slapped aside like a small paperweight.

Zidane was little more than a blur. He quickly ran behind the Prison cage and readied a Dyne attack. The Prison Cage turned, saw Zidane, and got ready to attack. I had to distract it. The only way we could beat this thing was if Zidane hit it with a Dyne. I ran up to the Prison Cage, twisted, and slammed my club into what could constitute as the Prison Cage's face. It screamed in pain as the wooden spikes drove into its skin. _Yeah, that's how my back feels from carrying this thing!_

The distraction worked. Zidane was able to hit the beast with a Shift Energy spell. I backed off as a swirl of light and energy spread underneath the monster. It let out another shriek of pain as its skin was shredded from the bottom up. The Prison Cage slumped over onto its side. I thought it was dead at first.

"Did we get it? Zidane asked hopefully. His question was answered when the Prison Cage raised its tentacles to the cage resting on its head. They grabbed Garnet's arms and a pink light came from their tips. Garnet screamed as the Prison Cage drained her energy and used it to heal itself. Bloody hell.

It stood back up and stretched out its tentacles. It swung around and hit Zidane and me at the same time. I slid against the ground and stopped after I hit a tree. It hurt. A lot.

I managed to stand up again, but my shoulder was killing me. I could still move my hand, so it wasn't dislocated. I dragged the club behind me and got into another L stance. If we could stop it from healing itself we could beat it. I looked to my side and saw Steiner standing with the tip of his sword pointed to the sky, with the cross guard next to his ear. Yup, that's a Zorn-hut, Steiner's stance of choice it seemed. Perfect for downward strikes. If I could hold down one of the tentacles…

"Steiner!" I yelled. "I need your help!" He just glanced over at me, keeping his focus on the enemy in front of him. The Prison Cage wasn't waiting any longer. It waddled over to us, refreshed and ready to attack. If I was going to counter it, I'd have to go now!

I ran with my club raised above my head. The Prison Cage swung its right tentacle at me. I reacted and swung my club into its tentacle. It caught and due to its heavier weight, the club pulled the tentacle to the ground. I held it in place with every ounce of strength that I had. "Steiner!" I called. Fortunately, he wasn't as dumb as he looked and knew what I was planning. He ran to my side and with a leap, cut deep into the monster's tentacle. It didn't sever, but the Prison Cage now had only one usable arm, and it needed both to heal itself.

I looked over at Zidane, who was already starting a new spell. I pulled my club out of the ground and ran away as fast as I could. Steiner did the same. We got out of the way just in time for another Shift Energy attack. It ripped through the Prison Cage like the first time. But this time, the beast was weaker thanks to the attack Steiner and I gave it. It lingered for a moment, then, just like in the game, it reached above itself, climbed into the trees and ran away.

Steiner ran underneath where the Prison Cage had run off. "Princess? PRINCESS!!!"

"What the heck? Where did they go?" Zidane's Trance faded as the light surrounding him died down. He and I joined Steiner in the middle of the clearing.

"She's gone..." Vivi said. He buried his face in his hands. "I was too scared to cast any spells... That monster's probably gonna eat her..."

Steiner stared down at the ground in defeat. "How could I let this happen!?" he said.

"Don't worry. She's not dead yet." Zidane said assuredly. "That monster was only a minion. He's probably gonna take her to his master."

"…Who will probably be even stronger than the minion." I said. "I vote we go back to the crash and get some better supplies." I held up my club. About half of its spikes had broken off in the fight. "I need a new weapon."

Steiner looked deep into the forest as a plan formed in his head. "No!" he said. "The princess is still in danger. Come! We must go find her at once!" I don't think he even heard my reasoning.

Before Steiner had a chance to enact his plan, another Prison Cage swooped down and captured Vivi.

"Vivi!" Zidane called out. Steiner gasped at the sudden attack. I looked on in anger. In all honesty, I had forgotten about the second one. I was tired. I was in pain. I was using a pointy stick as a weapon. Dammit! I wanted to rest!

Vivi looked out from between the "bars" of his prison. His eyes were filled with terror. "Help me!" he yelled. He reached his arm between the bars as if trying to grab someone's hand. If there's one thing I don't like, it's seeing my friends getting hurt. However, seeing my comrades hurt was much worse. Comrades were closer.

I lost control of myself and charged right at the new Prison Cage. I held my club high in a Zorn-hut stance like Steiner. I was going to spike the monster in the face, but I never got the chance. It swung a tentacle right into my chest, knocking me back into a tree. My club was rocketed out of my grasp and went flying somewhere into the woods.

I saw Zidane and Steiner's joint attack as I laid against the tree. They attacked in a parallel run. Zidane was also smacked in the chest and was sent flying head over heel into a tree across from mine. Steiner was smashed into the ground.

Maybe we were too tired. Maybe we were too weak. Maybe this Prison Cage was a black belt in something. Whatever the reason, we were getting our asses kicked. Vivi was shivering in his prison, but right now he was the only one who could fight.

I tried to call out to him, to tell him that if he fought back, he would be alright. But I couldn't. All the air got knocked out of my lungs when I hit the tree. All I could do was watch as everything unfolded before me.

Vivi looked around and gripped the sides of his hat. Then he went berserk.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!"" He let out Fire spell after Fire spell. The Prison Cage shrieked in panic and pain. Vivi continued to turn the Prison Cage into charcoal. I could only watch, surprised in Vivi's sudden character change. It was really impressive. Before long, the monster shuddered and died. Vivi was released from the once brown now black-and-smoking Prison Cage. As if his victory healed us, Zidane, Steiner and I managed to stand up and walked over to Vivi as he jumped to the ground and dusted himself.

"Are you alright?" Zidane asked.

"Y-Yeah... I think so." Vivi said as he dusted himself off.

"Vivi! That was awesome!" I had never seen anything like it and thought Vivi more than deserved the praise. He shyly looked at his feet. "Th-thanks."

This was awesome. Both Prison Cages were defeated, I got to fight in a real battle, plus, I was getting to live out life in one of my favorite video games. Now all we had to do was go back to the Prima Vista and get the spores out of Vivi and Steiner-

Spores!

I jumped back, just narrowly avoiding the green spray of pollen. Zidane did the same. Unfortunately, Vivi and Steiner were caught in the spray and went down.

"UGH! P-Prin...cess..." Steiner chocked out before he fell to the ground. Vivi collapsed without anything to say.

"Great." I said. I hated this place. So far the only thing that really went my way was the victory from thirty seconds ago, but now two of my allies were knocked out. I really wasn't looking forward to carrying Steiner back. With all that armor, he had to weigh more than two hundred pounds.

"We need to get them to Blank."

Right. Blank was perhaps my favorite member of Tantalus. After Zidane of course. His sacrifice later in the Evil Forest was incredibly noble. I really, really wasn't looking forward to that.

"Who?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"He's the one with red hair and a belt on his head. You'll know him when you see him."

"Why do we need to get these two to him?"

"They've been infected by the spores from the monster just now. If we don't cure them soon they'll die."

I didn't really want to think about that. I don't like the though of my friends dying. "Right." I looked at the two and realized how hard it was going to be to carry them back. "How are we going to carry them?"

"Oh. That is a problem, isn't it?" Zidane noticed.

I thought about how I could carry the two of them. I guess Tai Chi would work. If I just used the basics, and kept my spine perfectly aligned on top of my hips I could even carry Steiner no problem. Or, since I wasn't nearly that skilled, I could just drag Steiner by his ankles, face down in the mud.

"What if we put Vivi on Steiner's back and carried Steiner by the arms?" I suggested.

Zidane thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "I guess it would work." We loaded Vivi onto the back of Steiner's neck, then grabbed the rusty knight by the arms and lifted him with all our remaining strength. It wasn't easy, but we managed to pull it off. Walking slowly so as not to knock Vivi off, we exited the clearing.

"I just remembered something!" Zidane said.

"What?"

"You still haven't introduced yourself."

"Oh no. I'm not trying that again."

Zidane raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why not?"

"Because every time I try, something bad happens."

Zidane smirked at me. "You're over-reacting."

"I am not!" I said. "The harpoons and the bomb happened the first time. Then we all got kicked off of the ship the second time. I don't want to run the risk of something blowing up in my face if I try again."

"You're just being ridiculous." Zidane pointed out. I knew he was right. After all, all of those things were scripted.

"Fine." I sighed in mock defeat. I offered my free hand to him. "My name is Trevor. Nice to meet you."

Zidane grabbed my hand and gave it a friendly shake. "Likewise." he said.

However, the second he let go, there was a rustling in the bushes. We stopped walking as five Fangs stepped out of the bushes and stood in our way. I dropped Steiner's shoulder and stomped on the ground while turning to Zidane.

"I told you! I friggin' told you!"

Zidane just sighed.


	4. Politics Among Thespians

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story, but you already knew that.

Author's note- Another person to add to the list of really awesome reviewers is a guy named Solark. Yay! More reviewers!

Chapter 4: Politics among Thespians.

----------------

Cinna and Marcus were bringing supplies out of the smoking shell of the Prima Vista. The fires had stopped, but smoke was still rising from the ship. It really set the mood well when Zidane and I walked up, bruised and bloodied, dragging Steiner and Vivi.

"Holy-! What happened to you two?" Cinna asked. He and Marcus ran to take Steiner and Vivi from Zidane and me, which we gladly let them do. I don't think my back had ever been that twisted up.

"Fight." I said simply. Then I fell flat on my stomach.

"Trevor!" Zidane said. "Are you alright?"

"Tired."

Actually, my shoulder was killing me, my muscles were all sore, and I fought off five angry Fangs not even a minute ago. All in all, I felt like crap.

"Here, drink this." I opened my eyes and saw Marcus handing me a test tube filled with a blue liquid.

"What is this?" I asked, sitting up at the same time.

Marcus was obviously taken back by the question. "It's a potion."

"…Oh." If I wasn't careful, people were going to start asking questions.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Marcus asked. Just as I thought, people started asking questions. I love being psychic.

"If I was, would I need a potion?"

"…Good point."

I saw Zidane drink a vial just like the one I had. I guess potions had to be drunk. In the game, it always looked like they had to be thrown at someone's head. Oh well. This was safer I guess. With nothing to lose, I drank the strange blue stuff.

It wasn't that bad. It had the same sensation as drinking a Coke, but without the flavor. I don't really know how to describe its taste. I guess the best description I could come up with would be: blue.

The potion started working the second I finished the vial. My shoulder stopped hurting and my muscles healed. I even had a little more energy.

"Better?" Marcus asked. He offered a hand to help me up.

"Much." I took his hand and was lifted up to my feet in one fluid motion.

"By the way," Marcus started. "Zidane called you Trevor, right?"

"Yeah." I had to think to myself. Was there an instance where I learned Marcus' name? I couldn't think of one. Better play it safe. "Sorry, but I don't know your name."

"It's Marcus." He presented his hand again. I shook it with my own.

"Nice to meet you Marcus."

"And that is Cinna." Marcus said, pointing to the bearded thief. Cinna and Zidane were having their own conversation. Probably about the current situation.

"Hey, Trevor." Marcus said. "If you're up to it, can you give me a hand with these two?" He pointed his thumb at Steiner and Vivi. They had been put off to the side so that Zidane and I could be taken care of first. In a way, I felt touched.

"Sure. No problem."

"Cinna. Zidane." Marcus called. "Give us a hand here."

They stopped their talking and both responded with "Sure."

Zidane, Marcus and Cinna all helped each other with dragging Steiner inside the ship. I took Vivi by myself. Lucky for me since Vivi was so light.

We took them into the ship. I recognized the spiral staircase leading up to the bridge of the ship as we walked past it. Vivi went into one of the rooms beyond the stairway. Steiner got dragged into the roomto the left of Vivi's. I carefully set Vivi down on his bed. There was no telling what kind of damage the spores could cause.

"What's going on here?" came a voice from behind.

I turned and saw the red haired thief known as Blank. He was holding some cloths, probably because Baku ordered all supplies be carried out of the ship.

"Blank, I presume?" I said.

"Yeah. Who the hell are you?" Well, he was polite.

"Name's Trevor. How ya doin'?"

Blank just sneered at me through the headband covering his eyes. Seriously, how does he see? He walked passed me and checked on Vivi. "What happened to him?" he asked bluntly.

"We got attacked in the woods. Some monster sprayed him and the knight in the next room with spores."

"Spores huh?" He stepped back and stood in thought. After a moment, he walked out of the room. I didn't question what he was doing because it seemed like he was getting the antidote for the spore infection. I exited the room and stood out in the hallway, where Zidane and the others were waiting.

"You still have that stuff?" Zidane asked Blank. The members of Tantalus all stood in a circle.

"Yeah. Just let me get it." Blank walked off down the hall, leaving Zidane, Marcus and Cinna in a broken circle.

"What's he have?" I asked. The others turned to me.

"He's got an antidote for the spores that Vivi and Rusty have been infected with." Zidane answered.

"Why does he have something like that?"

"Actually," Cinna interrupted. "It's made by mixing a few things. The main element is some sort of medicine we stole from a noble in Treno once. If you mix it with the right things, you get a handy antidote for just about anything."

"It's good thing we brought it." Marcus said. "We really had no idea we were going to land in this place."

"No kidding." I added. "What do we do now?"

"I'll try to find a way out of here." Marcus said. He walked up the spiral stairway behind us, probably to find a map.

"I'll keep loading supplies out of the ship." Cinna said. He walked down the hall to exit the ship.

"I guess that leaves us with saving the princess." Zidane said.

"Hero stuff." I said. "Awesome!" I cracked my knuckles at the thought of saving someone like in a fairy tale. Also, I couldn't wait to get out of this forest. The sooner we left here, the sooner I could started freezing myself to death in the Ice Cavern. Whee.

"I need to talk to the boss about leaving the ship to save her, though. He's stubborn, so it might take awhile."

"All right. In the meantime, I need a new sword."

"Talk to Cinna." Zidane suggested. "He might know where to find one." He left for the spiral stairway.

"Right. Thanks." With that, I turned and went after Cinna. As I rounded the corner past the music room, I saw Blank walking with the Nero brothers. They were carrying various bottles and jars in their arms. No doubt it was for the antidote. That was good. Soon Vivi and Steiner would be okay. I walked down the stairway and out of the ship.

I saw Cinna sifting through the giant pile of supplies when I exited the ship. He had a very concerned look on his face.

"Dude, what's wrong?" I asked, genuinely concerned.

Cinna looked at me with shock and embarrassment. As I thought, he must have been looking for his little Garnet doll. That didn't really explain why he was embarrassed though. Maybe the other members of Tantalus made fun of him for having it.

"Is everything alright?"

"I lost something. That's all." he explained.

"Well, you seem pretty nervous about it. What did you lose?"

"Don't worry, I'll find it eventually."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It's fine." He went back to looking, as if the discussion never even happened. I guess that was the way Cinna is.

"Oh, Zidane told me to talk to you about getting a new sword."

"Did he now?" Cinna asked without looking up from the pile of stuff.

"You think you can help me out?" I asked.

"Alright, but it'll cost you."

"What? You're charging me?"

"You're not a member of Tantalus. I have to."

That sucked. I didn't have any money, and I wasn't about to go ask anyone for money. Without money, I wasn't able to get a sword. Without a sword, I was in even more trouble, what with all those monsters out there. Great. Unless a handful of gil landed on me right now, I was going to have to stay out of the battles. I didn't want to do that. I wanted to help the others in battle. I was about to go back into the ship and wait for Zidane to organize the search party, when a thought occurred to me.

If I found Cinna's doll for him, maybe he would let me have a sword for free. It was a stretch, but I had to try for it.

"Cinna, if I found whatever it is you're looking for, would you give me a sword for free?"

"No."

So much for that idea. Oh, well. Time for psychological warfare!

"Too bad." I put my hands behind my head and turned the other way. "I just thought that if two people were looking for it, it might be found faster. But, then again, it might not. I mean, how long do we have until a swarm of monsters find this place and destroy it? They might find it and take turns burning it or tearing it to shreds. Of course, that's assuming it hasn't already been destroyed from the fires earlier. Who knows, right?"

I turned back and saw what may have been the most horrified expression I have ever seen. Cinna's eyes were the size of small plates and they had no pupils. His teeth were shivering from the images I must have put in his head. He looked like he was about to cave in on himself. _Wow, I'm better than I thought._

"Alright!" Cinna said in a defeated tone.

"Cool. What are we looking for?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"…My doll."

"What's it look like?"

Cinna gave me a curious look. He raised an eyebrow and turned his head a little. "You're not going to make fun of me?"

"Why would I? It isn't cool to make fun of someone for something like that." My assumption that he got made fun of by the other members of Tantalus seemed accurate.

"Never mind." he said with a wave of his hand. "It has a blue dress and black hair. It's about this big." He spread his hands about six inches apart from each other.

"Alright, got it." I looked around the pile of stuff for a moment. I knew it wasn't here. Steiner would find it later in the music room. I planned on grabbing it after Zidane asked him to join the rescue party. "Hey Cinna!"

He looked up from his search, pulling out a sink. I have no idea why that was there.

"I'm going to look inside the ship a little. It might be in there."

"Yeah, okay." He went back to his search, placing the sink off to the side.

As I entered the ship, I heard someone yell "I ain't holdin' back." I ran into the cargo room just in time to see Baku rushing at Zidane with a big scimitar. _Wow, is it this far into the game already? How long was I outside? _I leaned against the doorframe and relaxed for a good fight.

Baku's sword came straight down on top of Zidane's shoulder. Zidane countered by crossing his daggers above himself, blocking the sword. Unfortunately, while Zidane's hands were both occupied, Baku took one hand off of his sword and punched Zidane right in the jaw, knocking him back. Zidane got to his feet instantly as Baku ran forward with is sword at his side. He swung at Zidane from the side, which Zidane deflected quite easily. Baku swung his sword again, but from the other side this time. Zidane deflected that one too. Baku continued to probe Zidane's defenses and Zidane continued to block each attack.

It went on like that for a little bit, until Baku smirked. He raised his sword far behind his head and swung it straight down with everything he had, aiming for Zidane's head. It looked like Zidane was going to get his head smashed in. I admit, I winced when Baku's sword finally made contact. Fortunately, it only made contact with the floor. Zidane, on the other hand, was standing to Baku's left, with one of his daggers poking Baku in the neck.

The fight hadn't even lasted a minute. Baku backed off as he acknowledged his defeat. "I'll be damned…Bravo!" He swung a quick low punch into Zidane's stomach. "Go find your princess! Gwahahahaha..." With that, Baku walked up the stairs behind him and left the room.

I walked up to Zidane to see if he was alright. "Damn, that hurt!" Zidane said before I asked anything. His voice was slightly strained. "He pulled his punches 'til that last one."

"I guess he wanted you to find Princess Garnet." I said.

"Maybe. Where have you been anyway?"

"Just hanging out with Cinna."

"Did you get a sword?"

"Not yet, but I'll have one soon enough."

"What does that mean?"

"More importantly," I said, changing the subject. "I'm going with you to save the princess, but if it's just the two of us, it'll be suicide." I didn't think Cinna would appreciate me telling the others what w were looking for.

"I wasn't planning on that. I was going to ask that knight and Vivi to join us."

"Sounds like a good team." I offered my hand to help Zidane up from the ground. He grabbed it and I pulled him to his feet. It was then that I noticed that we were about the same height. I was only an inch or two taller than him. Go me!

"Rusty was put in the music room. It's just up these stairs."

We walked up the stairs and walked through the door. Steiner was sitting on a stool, looking at a doll. Cinna's no doubt. If Steiner realized that we entered the room, he didn't show it.

"Come on." Zidane said. "You're too old to be playing with a doll." He walked up to the rust covered knight while I stayed back and leaned on the doorway. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Maybe I should start a club.

"Silence!" Steiner demanded. "A scoundrel like you could never understand! I'm just overwhelmed with concern for the princess! If only you rogues hadn't kidnapped her… This is all your fault! If anything should happen to the princess, I will have your head!"

"Take it easy. Geez…" Zidane said. "I'm gonna go look for her now. I'll let you come with me if you promise to be good. What do you say, Rusty?"

_Yeah Steiner, join the Leaning Against a Doorframe Club. We're fun!_

"RR...RUSTY!!!?" yelled the rust covered knight. "I am Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Knights of Pluto, and I will never work with you conniving thieves!"

"Captain? I figured you were a private, what with that cheap, rusty armor… Look, this has nothing to do with Tantalus. It's something I decided to do on my own. I just wanna save Garnet."

_Yeah! If we save Garnet, then we would have a girl in our club. Neat!_

"Hmph...! You had better not be lying! Because if you are, I won't hesitate to kill you!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm counting on you, Rusty."

_Oh boy! Another member! Maybe we can take a field trip to a doorframe factory._

"Make no mistake." Steiner said as he stood up. "I'm only going with you to rescue the princess! I'll deal with you personally when this is over!"

"...Whatever."

"It may be difficult with just the three of us, assuming that you are coming with us." he said, indicating me.

"Of course I am." That's right, I was listening.

"We should seek Master Vivi's help as well." Steiner added.

"Why are you calling him 'Master'?" Zidane asked.

"You fool. That black mage has unimaginable powers… I don't want to get him involved, but alas, it can't be helped. We need Master Vivi's help to rescue the princess."

"I agree." I said, mostly because I wanted to say something rather than stand around pointlessly.

"Alright, let's go talk to Vivi." Zidane decided. He and Steiner left the room. I followed, but not before I grabbed Cinna's doll and carefully pocketed it.

We walked in silence until we got to Vivi's room. He was still laying down on the bed, like he was trying to take a nap. Zidane and Steiner walked into the room. I just leaned against the doorframe. Hey, I had a thing going.

"Well, Vivi, we're ready to go look for the princess." Zidane said as he approached Vivi's bedside.

"Really!?" Vivi asked excitedly. "That's great! Be careful, okay?"

"Actually, we want you to come with us, too." Zidane explained.

"Huh!? B-But I can't do anything."

"Hardly, Master Vivi." Steiner began. "Your magic was highly effective against that monster. In all honesty, I hold your power in greater esteem than I do this scoundrel's."

_No surprise there._ I thought to myself.

"B-But...I'm scared." Vivi said. "I couldn't even move last time."

"Please, Master Vivi. For the sake of Princess Garnet and all of Alexandria, I humbly request your assistance!"

"Vivi." I started. "Against the things out here, you're the strongest of all four of us. You took down that one minion thing all by yourself after the rest of us got the crap kicked out of us."

"Come on!" Zidane said. "You're a black mage, for crying out loud! Show us what you've got! Alright, let's get going."

"...Okay." Vivi agreed nervously. "I'll...try my best."

"Alright! Now it's a party!" I said, referring to a battle party. Not the thing where you get drunk and hit on a coat rack.

"Thank you, Master Vivi." Steiner said.

Zidane and I left the room. Steiner and Vivi exited a moment later, talking about using Vivi's magic on Steiner's sword no doubt. I made a mental note to try that out myself later. We walked out of the cargo room where Zidane and Baku fought. Blank was waiting for us in the next room.

"Sheez...you really dig her, huh?" he asked Zidane.

"I can't sit around knowing a girl's in trouble." Zidane said. "Goes against my nature."

"Whatever. You're full of crap."

"I'll be waiting outside." I said to the others. I still didn't have a sword and this was the best chance I had to give Cinna back his doll. I left Zidane and Blank to their odd conversation.

Outside, Cinna was still looking through the pile of stuff. The pile which started with just the sink had grown to include a cactus, a moose's head on a plaque, and, for some reason, a mannequin's leg.

"Any luck?" I asked with a smirk.

"No." he said without looking up. "What about you?"

"I think so." I pulled the Garnet doll out of my pocket. "Is this it?"

Cinna took one look at the doll and nearly ripped my arm out of its socket when he pulled it out of my grasp. He gave the doll a deep and constricting hug. The kind you might give a loved one after they came back from war.

"So, do I get a sword now?"

Cinna turned from his doll for only a moment to answer "Yeah. There's one for you over there." He pointed to the end of the pile where a small armory was built up. There was armor, shields, spears, and whatnot. I sifted through the pile until I found the hilt of a sword. I pulled the sword out of the pile and inspected it.

It was a simple broadsword. The edges were good and sharp and it was well balanced. The edges were dented in a few places, but it would still last a while. I dug around a little longer until I found a sheath. It came with a loop that could be fitted onto a belt. And lucky me, I was wearing a belt.

"Cinna, do you have any more swords?"

"Sorry." he said, looking up from his doll. He really loved that thing. "We can't spare any more."

"Oh well." I strapped the sword onto my belt just as Zidane and the others were walking out of the ship.

"Ready to go?" Zidane asked. I just showed everyone my new sword hanging from my belt with a smile. Zidane nodded.

"Alright. Let's go." With that, we all set off into the forest.


	5. Boss Fight! Plant Brain

Disclaimer- I own nothing in this story except Trevor. Wait, that doesn't sound dirty to anyone, does it?

Chapter 5: Boss Fight! Plant Brain.

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The forest really didn't look inviting in any way. My hand never left the hilt of my sword for a moment. Zidane walked out in front. Vivi was behind him for magical support if we needed it. I walked behind Vivi. I was fast and would be able to defend from any side if needed. Steiner brought up the rear. If anything tried to attack from the behind us, the rest of us wouldn't get a chance to fight it before Steiner took it down.

We hadn't bee traveling long before we found a small clearing. Zidane stopped and we spread out to see what was going on.

"Hmm… No sign of any monsters here." Zidane thought aloud. "A spring..."

"Let's take a quick break." I suggested. "We're useless if we need to fight something and we're too tired to do it."

"Absolutely not!" Steiner demanded. "We must hurry and rescue the princess before she is killed."

"I don't think you have much to worry about her dying anytime soon."

"What!" Steiner yelled. I swear, he was going to burst a blood vessel in his throat if he kept on doing that.

"She was captured by a big plant. They don't get their energy from eating animals, such as humans. They get their energy from sunlight. Garnet is most likely going to be infected with spores so that their numbers can increase. For that, they need her alive. And it will take a long time before the spores hatch." _Yeah. That's a college education at work._

Steiner just growled in anger. Zidane explored the small field for a place to rest. "Alright." Zidane said. "But we won't wait long."

"Of course." I agreed.

We spread out and rested among the clearing. The hike so far had been a lot more strenuous than I first thought. I laid back against a stump the right of where we entered. I remembered that one of the moogles hid in it in the game. I looked inside the hollow stump, hoping to see him, but instead, there was a really big spider. A REALLY big spider. One of those big hairy ones that you look at and scream 'MY GOD THAT'S A BIG SPIDER!' I hate spiders.

Needless, to say, I jumped backwards. Much to my dismay, I landed in the spring.

"You okay?" Zidane asked as he offered his hand to help me up. I took it.

"Aside from the fact that I'm soaked, I'm fine." I hated this place. I've nearly died several times from monsters and a very angry knight, I had to drag a several hundred pound pile of metal and fat after a very draining battle, I could still feel where the spikes from my club had driven themselves into my back, and I still had a bump on my head from when I hit that rock after I fell off of the Prima Vista. I really hated this place.

"That's enough of a rest." Steiner insisted after another minute. "We must leave now!" The rest of us didn't complain. We just picked up our equipment and headed out of the clearing.

It wasn't much longer until we reached the Plant Brain's lair. The tunnel leading into it was covered in vein-like roots. It was kind of like walking through one of those drive-thru trees they have out in California. The Plant Brain was waiting behind the tunnel.

It was huge. Like the biggest potted plant in existence. Its tentacles reached both sides of he room. In the center of the flower on its face was an eye. I thought that it looked like a weird mouth with fangs the first time I played the game.

"There she is!" Vivi said. He pointed behind the massive flower in front of us.

"So this is the master." Zidane said.

"Ugly, isn't it?" I said.

"Princess!!!" Steiner called out. "You stay out of this! Alexandria would be disgraced if a mere bandit should rescue the princess."

"You think you can handle him on your own?" Zidane asked.

Steiner just remained silent.

"Vivi, Trevor! Let's get him!"

The battle erupted when the Plant Brain noticed us. It let out a high pitched scream and reached forward to strike at us. It was big, but it was slow. We all dodged out of the way. Steiner and Vivi stayed back while Zidane and I ran forward. I ran to the monster's left while Zidane ran to its right. We got a few hits in before its tentacles swept forward and tried to knock us back. We got away in time to avoid any real damage, but my foot got hit and I slid back to one of the walls. I laid there while a tentacle rose over my head. I raised my sword to guard myself as best I could, but it clearly wouldn't stop the blow completely. I braced for impact.

The Plant Brain let out another high pitched scream, but this time it wasn't from anger. It was clearly pain. I looked back at the Plant Brain. Steiner had slashed it while it was distracted with me. There were burn marks surrounding Steiner's attack. _That's right! He used Fire Sword!_

"Vivi!" I yelled. "Mind if I try that?"

Vivi concentrated his magic as I held out my sword. Zidane and Steiner kept the Plant Brain busy while Vivi focused his power. I saw him jump and swing his staff my way. My sword heated up as the magic coursed through the metal. An evil smirk crept onto my face as I ran to the boss of the forest. I held my sword out in front of me at the last second and shoved my sword up to the cross guard into the monster's side. It screamed again as pain went shooting through it.

I pulled my sword out and was about to hack away at it, but it released pollen which blinded me. It took me by surprise and I leapt back, trying to get the pollen out of my eyes. The Plant Brain took its chance and slapped me in the stomach, knocking the wind right out of me. It knocked me back to the entrance of the room. I heard Vivi gasp in fear and surprise as I landed at his feet. I heard two more gasps of pain as Zidane and Steiner landed nearby. Apparently, they were hit by the pollen as well.

The Plant Brain let out another shriek. It really enjoyed screaming like that apparently.

"Good. I'm not too late." came a voice. I recognized it as Blank's.

"Blank?" I called out.

"Hold still. You have pollen in your eyes." He handed me a bottle. "Use this. It'll help." I heard him walk off towards where I heard Zidane land. I tilted the bottle until I felt the nozzle. I aimed it at my face and sprayed. It burned like hell. But, within seconds, my vision returned to me. My eyes were watering from the spray. I guessed that Blank had given me some Eye Drops.

I turned back to face the Plant Brain and put the Eye Drops in my pocket. I held my sword in front of me and waited for Zidane and the others to stand up. However, the Plant Brain wasn't going to wait that long. It swung a tentacle right at all of us. I got ready to get hit again.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Vivi screamed. A Fire spell went off in the Plant Brain's face. It brought its tentacles back to itself as it cowered in pain. I turned back to see Vivi, standing forward with his staff in hand. He was defiantly getting braver. A thought struck me as I saw Steiner getting to his feet.

"Vivi," I said. "Can you use your magic on three swords at once?"

He just looked back at me confused. He turned inwards as he thought. _Hurry Vivi. We don't have much time._

"I could, but it wouldn't last for more than a few seconds." he answered.

"That'll do." I told him. "Cast it on Steiner's, Blank's, and my sword. Could you try that?"

The Plant Brain stopped screaming and slowly refocused on us.

"Y-yeah. I'll try."

"Good. You guys hear that?" I asked the others. Blank had finished helping the other two. All three of them nodded 'yes'.

"I'll run a distraction and give you guys time." Zidane said. He ran out and dodged a tentacle as it crashed down to the ground. He continued to weave in and out as the Plant Brain continued to swing and miss him. He stabbed a tentacle which he narrowly avoided. The Plant Brain roared in pain as the dagger ripped through its skin. It bled slowly. Zidane jumped around, avoiding the thrashes of pain from the giant flower.

But, he couldn't keep it up forever. He dodged another attack, but left his side exposed. The Plant Brain took full advantage of this and smacked Zidane into the opposite wall. With him out of the way, the monster flower focused on the rest of us.

"Are you ready?" Vivi asked. Blank, Steiner and I stuck our swords into the air, almost like the Three Musketeers. Vivi's magic flew through the air and into the tips of the swords. Fire burned through the metal and the swords started to glow a soft red.

"Now!" Steiner said. We broke into a run. Blank and I flanked to the left and right, respectively. Steiner charged straight at the monster. It swung it's tentacles at us, but with three targets and only two arms to attack with, it didn't make up its mind in time. It missed all three of us completely and we all pierced the side of the giant flower from three sides. The fire magic erupted from the swords and into the Plant Brain's body. With no way to defend itself, the fire went crazy inside of it. Another Fire spell came from Vivi into its face, just for good measure. The Plant Brain swung its arms wildly, knocking out a part of the wall. The wall crumbled and formed a small tunnel. _I guess that's where we're leaving, _I thought.

Finally, the Plant Brain slumped over to its side. The vines keeping Garnet in place against the wall receded and she slid down the wall just behind the giant monster. It didn't disappear like in the game. It just stayed there, rotting in place. Steiner ran behind the Plant Brain and carried Garnet out in his arms.

"Princess!!!" Steiner cried as he cradled Garnet in his arms. "Please get a hold of yourself!"

"Zidane, give her the stuff." Blank instructed. Zidane pulled a bottle out of his pocket and opened the top. He poured the antidote into Garnet's mouth. She coughed as she drank the foul tasting medicine. "Princess, please try to drink all of it." Steiner asked. The look of disgust on her face made me glad I didn't get infected. She didn't open her eyes. For the moment, she was still unconscious.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Vivi asked.

As soon as Vivi asked his question, the ground started to shake. The Plant Brain started to sway back and forth.

"Oh, man! What now!?" Blank asked.

"Geez, is that thing still alive?" Zidane asked. He took out his daggers. Blank and I took out our swords. The Plant Brain stretched like it was trying to pull itself out of its root. It continued to stretch until its face tore open and Plant Spiders came crawling out.

"Oookay…" I said. "I didn't need to see that."

The Plant Spiders crawled out of the face of their dead master and started walking towards our group's sides.

"Sheez! We're gonna be surrounded!" Blank warned.

"Let's get out of here!" Zidane yelled. Steiner and Vivi already ran out the second tunnel. Blank backed towards the tunnel as well. Zidane and I were still standing, ready to fight back at whatever was dumb enough to attack us. But Blank thought differently.

"GO!" he yelled. "What are you waitin' for!?"

I sheathed my sword and Zidane sheathed his daggers. We turned and ran out the tunnel, with Blank right behind us. Steiner and Vivi had slowed down to see if we were coming. Once they saw us, they began running again.

We ran for a while. My legs were already getting heavy, as a combination from the fight and the running I had to do to stay alive for now. We hadn't been running long when Zidane stopped running and looked at the forest behind us. Blank and I stopped with him.

"What are you doin'!?" Blank asked.

"Something's wrong…" Zidane explained.

"What?"

"The entire forest is coming after us." Zidane said. He turned back to the two of us. "Blank, Trevor… Take care of everyone." He ran past Blank and me towards the others.

Blank was obviously confused at Zidane's request. We ran after him. Blank glanced at me with a raised eyebrow. He didn't know what was going to happen. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I did.

Zidane planned to sacrifice himself so that everyone else could escape.

Zidane, Blank and I caught up with Steiner and Vivi again before too long. We all ran as fast as we could. Plant Spiders ran out from every corner of the forest. They screamed as they ran after us. If that wasn't bad enough, the forest was turning to stone. Probably because the Plant Brain was dead. It was the obligatory, the-main-boss-is-dead-so-the-base-is-blowing-up routine. I didn't dare look behind myself. Otherwise, I might trip and get petrified with the rest of the forest.

Steiner's armor clanged together while carrying Garnet and Vivi ran as fast as his legs could take him. Zidane, Blank and I ran in the back of the group. We rounded another corner, and light began pouring out through the end of the path. Just another few hundred feet and we'd be out of Evil Forest. This seemed to give Steiner and Vivi and extra bit of energy. They ran with everything they had towards the exit. Zidane began to slow down. Steiner and Vivi ran farther and father ahead. I kept my distance, but I wasn't as far back as Zidane. He grabbed one of his daggers and was about to be snatched by one of the Plant Spiders. He was ready to fight for everyone's safety.

Blank shoved him out of the way.

Zidane and I skidded to a halt. As much as I hated this scene, I had to watch. Blank's sacrifice deserved to be honored.

"BLANK!" Zidane yelled over the cries of the monsters holding his friend captive. They started to turn to stone along with the rest of the forest. Blank reached into a pouch had had at his side. He pulled out a rolled up scroll of paper.

"GET OUT OF HERE!!!" Blank yelled as he threw the scroll.

"Zidane! Let's go!!!" I yelled. I couldn't wait anymore. I turned and ran for the exit as fast as I could. I knew Zidane would follow soon enough. Just as things couldn't possibly get any worse, spiked vines flew out of the trees. They threw themselves in front of us. I jumped to and fro, ducking and dodging whatever was in my way. I had so much adrenaline rushing through my system, it felt like my head was going to explode. Just when I thought I couldn't take any more, I saw the exit, leading to freedom from this wretched hell-hole.

I ran out the exit and jumped into a tumble. I rolled on my side for a few feet before I leaned on my arm and picked myself up. Zidane had rolled not too far from me. Steiner and Vivi approached us. Both of them were completely out of breath. We all watched as the spiked vines sealed off the forest and turned to stone.

Somewhere in there, Blank was frozen in place in the grips of a monster.

Zidane got up and ran to the wall of vines. He started beating on the rock separating him and his long time friend. It seemed appropriate to let him have a minute.

"Can we make camp now?" Vivi asked quietly. Steiner and I just nodded.

----------------

"I hope she gets well soon..." Vivi said.

We had set up a small campsite a short distance from Evil Forest. Garnet was sleeping in the only tent we had. Vivi and I were sitting around the fire we had started. My sword was laying down at my side. Steiner was standing watch over the princess. Zidane just stared into the distance.

"This is all his fault!" Steiner accused Zidane. "Have you nothing to say, you filth!?"

"...Oh..."

Almost as if Steiner's yelling had magic powers, Garnet stirred and slowly woke up.

"P-Princess!!!" the rusty knight said in a concerned tone.

"…Steiner?" Garnet mumbled in a semi-conscious voice. "…How did I survive…? You brought me here?"

"It is my sworn duty to protect you at any cost."

"What are you talking about?" Zidane protested. "It was Vivi's magic, Trevor's sword, and my dagger that got you out of there, Princess."

"I thank you all." Garnet said.

Zidane and Steiner continued to yell at each other ruthlessly. It would be awhile before they finally quieted down. I turned and saw Vivi sitting as quietly as I was.

"Vivi," I said, grabbing his attention. "Nice job back there in the forest."

"Oh. Thanks." he said. "But I didn't do much."

"That's not true." I told him. That fight would've been next to impossible if it wasn't for you and your magic."

"Heh." Vivi seemed to blush at the compliment. We sat in silence for another minute before Vivi raised the next topic.

"Do you think that guy will be okay?" he asked.

"Who? Blank?"

Vivi nodded.

"He'll be fine Vivi. I wouldn't worry about it."

"But he was turned to stone!"

"And being turned to stone can be cured. Don't worry about it. We can come back for him anytime."

"Really?"

"Really."

Vivi breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the news. He laid down as he relaxed.

" Vivi, Trevor," we heard suddenly. Zidane was looking back at us. "Let's get some rest."

Steiner stood guard over the area. Zidane and I just laid back down across from each other in the dirt. Garnet had laid back in her tent. Vivi was so tired that he was asleep as soon as Zidane sat down. I was tired from all the fighting and running from earlier. It wasn't long before I fell asleep.

----------------

My eyes took in the color of the dark gray sky the next morning. I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. I rolled on my stomach and tried to get more sleep. That's when I noticed that I was sleeping on grass. I looked around and saw a girl sleeping in a tent, a kid in a blue overcoat and a big straw hat, and some guy in armor standing guard over us all. I jumped to my feet until I remembered: _Right. I'm on Gaia. Final Fantasy IX. We just got out of Evil Forest._

Steiner was snoring. His eyes were shut tight and he had a bit of drool traveling down his chin. If I had a marker or something, I would have drawn something on his face.

Zidane wasn't anywhere around. He must have walked to the entrance of Evil Forest. I got up and carefully walked away from the camp. I did my best not to wake up any of the others. I made my way to the petrified vines closing off the forest from the rest of the world where Zidane was standing around.

"Morning." I called to him. He just waved in response. I walked up and stared at the wall with him. I could still imagine where Blank was, trapped in the Plant Spider's claws.

"Couldn't sleep, huh?" I asked.

"I just kept thinking out Blank." Zidane angrily punched the wall of stone in front of him. "He should've escaped with the rest of you."

"And what?" I asked calmly. "You should have been left to die?"

Zidane just looked at me sadly. "Blank made a sacrifice." I told him. "The best way to honor that is to go out and live life, not to sit around and mope about it."

Zidane looked away from me and looked back into the forest. "You really think so?"

"Yeah. And it's not like he's really dead, he's just turned to stone. He can be cured."

Zidane smiled. "You're right."

I smiled back. I was going to college to become a therapist after all. Natural talent. Hell yeah.

"There was something else I wanted to ask you." Zidane said.

"What was it?"

"What were you doing on the Prima Vista in the first place?"

He had me there. I wasn't prepared for something like that. I had to make something up quick.

"I was in the audience and I fell into the pool. The theatre ship was the easiest place to climb out of the water."

"And you ran out on stage like that because…?"

"I used to be an actor and wanted to go back out on stage."

"You're an actor?"

"More or less, yeah."

"Hey, when this job is done, talk to Baku. Maybe you can join Tantalus."

A chance to join a group of theatrical thieves? Nice.

"…Depending on how well you can act of course." Zidane continued.

"Of course." I said. I could barely contain myself. I burst out in a small fit of laughter. Zidane soon did the same.

"Sorry to get you involved in all of this." he said between laughs.

"Don't worry about it." I told him as I laughed. "I needed some excitement in my life." Zidane just laughed back.

"It seems you two are enjoying yourselves." came a voice from behind us. Garnet was walking towards us, alive and not full of demon plant seeds. Hooray for no demon plant seeds!

"How are you feeling?" Zidane asked.

"Good…thanks to that medicine you gave me. Could this be...?"

"Yeah, I was surprised, too." Zidane said. "After we beat that big plant-guy, the forest got completely petrified."

"Vivi told me that we were able to escape because of your friend."

"…His name is Blank."

I walked away silently, leaving Zidane and Garnet to their conversation. I wanted to get the campsite packed up so that we could leave quicker. The sooner we left here, the sooner we'd get to the good parts of the game.

When I arrived at the campsite, Vivi was already busy trying to take down the tent. He tried to take out one of the corner poles supporting it, but he bent it the wrong way and it flicked him onto his back. It was kinda cute to watch, like a kitten being buried in an avalanche of yarn balls.

"Need some help?" I offered.

"Y-Yeah, sure."

I kneeled down and opened the strap holding the pole in place. It slid out a few inches.

"Vivi, give me a hand here." As I saw it, Vivi started this job, and to have someone else do everything might make him think he was useless, which clearly wasn't true. I glanced back after Vivi didn't respond. He was staring at something in the forest.

"Vivi?"

"Look! There's something coming!" he said. Zidane and Garnet came back to camp to hear the end of Vivi's statement.

"What is it?" Zidane asked.

Vivi was right. Before long, we could clearly see a moogle headed for our camp. It was moving as fast as it could and arrived out of breath.

"Wait! Kupo!" he said as he stopped to take a quick rest. "I'm impressed, kupo! First time I've seen anyone escape from Evil Forest. You all must be strong, kupo! But don't get cocky, kupo. Lots of stronger monsters ahead."

"Thank you." Garnet said with a short bow.

"Kupopo!"

"Bye." Vivi waved.

"Kupoo!"

I couldn't help but look on in confusion. No lesson from Mogster? No Moogle Flute? What a rip off!

"Hey, wait a minute." I started. Everyone looked back at me. Fortunately, I realized what I was doing before I made any more screw ups. "Uh… Never mind. Thanks." I finished with a nervous smile.

"Kupo."

I walked off with Garnet and Vivi. Zidane stayed back and a second later there was an audible smack of metal. Zidane came running up a moment later, laughing to himself.

"What was that?" Garnet asked.

"Nothing." Zidane said.

"He hit Steiner in the back to wake him up." I explained.

"Trevor!"

"That wasn't very nice Zidane." Garnet said, although her tone betrayed her words. It was obvious that she was trying not to laugh.

Steiner came running after us yelling, "Princess, wait!"

And thus, we started making our way to the Ice Cavern.


	6. Could We Keep Moving Please?

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters in this story other than Trevor.

Definitions

Plow stance- When one stands in an L stance with his/her sword held at hip level and the tip aimed at the enemy's head or throat.

Chapter 6: Could We Keep Moving Please? I'm Freezing Here!

----------------

"My friends Phillip and Brian were hanging out in my room with me one day." I said as I regaled everyone else in a story of mine from college. "We were bored, and my roommate, Matt, had kinda pissed everyone off the other day at a club meeting, so we decided to hide his mattress."

Somehow, our conversation had turned to funny stories about pranks we had done in the past. Zidane started us off with a prank he and the rest of Tantalus pulled on a snotty noble from Treno by robbing thing right under his nose, in his own house. Even Garnet told us a story about how she fiddled around with her piano teacher's piano to make the notes sound more like someone stepping on a cat. Vivi didn't have any stories since he was so young and had never pulled a prank on anyone, and Steiner refused to join the "childish" conversation at all.

"Matt came back a little while later and noticed his mattress was missing after a few seconds. Phillip, Brian and I were hanging out on my side of the room and just watched as he started looking around frantically. We laughed as he tore through his closet and checked every corner of the room. Then he finally looked in the bathroom."

Garnet and Vivi were looking on in intense fascination. Zidane grinned as if he knew what was going to happen. Steiner just walked, pretending not to listen, but I knew he was.

"He pushed open the door and saw his mattress laying in the shower stall and let out the most high pitched scream I've ever heard!"

Everyone, except Steiner burst into laughter. We had been walking for three days. The best way to pass the time was conversation. As one would guess, Zidane was very talkative. He drove most of the conversations we had. Garnet was a little hesitant at first, but by the second day, she was talking almost as much as Zidane. Vivi even joined in every once in a while, although he usually didn't have much to say. What do you expect? He lived his whole life in a cave. Steiner only spoke when he wanted to say that something was inappropriate. Basically, he was being no fun.

It took us another day to reach the entrance to the Ice Cavern. Since it was the only place on the map we could really try to go, what with the North Gate being closed, we headed for it and hoped that it would lead us out of the Mist.

When we did arrive, we saw a gaping hole in the mountain side. The air in the cavern was so cold, it poured out into the valley like it was foam from a waterfall. I was going to hate this.

"This must be the cavern..." Zidane said.

"U-Um…" Vivi stammered.

"What's up, Vivi?"

"Have you ever heard of the Ice Cavern?"

"Sure… Is this the place?"

"I think so… It's supposed to be near Evil Forest."

"...I've heard of it." Garnet said. "It's supposed to be a beautiful place, covered in ice."

"Do we have to go through here?" I asked. "It's way too cold."

"My grandpa told me about this place." Vivi explained. "He said the cavern takes travelers to the top of the Mist."

"Bravo!" Steiner said. "Master Vivi's grandfather must be quite a scholar! We must thank him upon escaping the Mist!"

"My grandpa used to teach me lots of things, but he passed away..." Vivi said quietly.

"Oh… Forgive my indiscretion."

"Don't worry about it."

"Well… why don't we go inside?" said Zidane, getting the party back on track.

"Because it's freezing." I reminded him. "That's why."

Zidane just rolled his eyes. "Let's go."

We walked into the Ice Cavern, and the second we did, I regretted it. I was only wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Hell, I had to wear three layers of clothes just to make it through a Sword Club meeting in the middle of Winter. Even with two pairs off gloves on, my fingertips managed to get almost frostbitten.

"Oh...! What a beautiful place!" Garnet said as she kneeled down in the icy garden. "Seeing the actual cavern is so much better than reading about it! Oh, how pretty… I wonder what kind of flower this is?"

Garnet was right. This place, although very, very cold, was beautiful. It was almost like walking into a hall of diamonds.

"Princess!" Steiner said. "Please, don't touch anything!"

Zidane walked in behind us all. "Can we get moving? I'm freezin' here."

"So cold." I muttered. I hated being cold. I hugged my arms to my chest as closely as I could, but it didn't do much. I didn't want to die as a popsicle. To hell with whoever invented cold!

I guess Zidane had it worse than any of us. He didn't have sleeves. Sucks for him.

We slowly made our way up the incline in the cave. Surprisingly, it didn't get much colder. I don't know if that was because I was getting used to it or because the wind wasn't blowing so hard. Or maybe I had already lost all feeling in my body. Yeah, let's go with that one.

The path we walked on was nothing much more than an ice bridge. Some of the sides went down into absolute nothingness. We walked, surrounded by ice and light coming from no where in particular. I didn't really question it. Either way, the light reflecting off of the freezing ice looked really cool. It was a much needed distraction from how low the temperatures were. Did I mention that it was cold?

"Huh? What's this?"

We all turned as Zidane walked down a dead end. He peered into the wall, as if he saw something

"What a strange wall." Zidane said as he ran his hand over the ice wall. "There's gotta be something behind it. Hey, Vivi!"

"Y-Yes?" the shy mage answered.

"Can you break this wall down with your magic?"

Vivi glanced at me for a second. I guess because I was the one who had been encouraging him about his powers the most. I gave him a light punch on the shoulder, the kind guys give each other for support. "You've got this Vivi."

He turned back and followed Zidane to the ice wall. "I...I'm coming."

Vivi powered up his fire spell in his hands and let it loose against the wall.

"Whoa!" Zidane jumped back as the wall melted in an instant. The water ran off from the wall and formed a giant icicle on the floor. Zidane reached into the newly formed hole in the wall. After a moment, he pulled out a small treasure box. Zidane popped the lid of the box off and grabbed an ether from inside the box. "I knew it! See? There might be other walls like this… I'm counting on you, Vivi!"

"S-Sure!"

They started to step down from the platform against the wall when a familiar wind started blowing across their path. Whenever that happened in the game, the party was attacked by a monster called a Wyerd. Those obnoxious blue things with tusks the size of a snow shovel. I didn't want to fight those, especially not in these temperatures. My fingers would shatter if they got hit.

"Don't move!" I yelled.

Too late. Zidane and Vivi crossed the snowy wind, which would summon a battle I really didn't want to fight. My hand darted to the hilt of my sword as I searched the area for any sign of approaching monsters. I looked back and forth, down each side of the cave, but, to my surprise and relief, nothing ran at us or appeared out of nowhere. I took a breath as my sense of safety returned to me.

"What's wrong?" Zidane asked.

"Nothing." I calmly replied. I was relieved beyond belief. If we had fought and my hands got hit, the frozen blood in my hands would have shattered, sending little blood crystals flying everywhere. Not a pretty thing to imagine.

"Is everything okay?" Garnet asked. I had just answered that question. Were they just making fun of me?

"Yeah.. I thought that-" I was cut off as a deep gurgle rolled down the cave. It echoed loudly in the narrow tunnel and left a dull ringing in my ears. Bloody. Friggin'. Hell.

We all turned to face the north side of the tunnel where we were headed. Two blue walruses with legs, also know as Wyerds, made their way towards us. I could only look on in disbelief as I realized that my hands were going to get broken into very tiny little pieces in a moment.

"What…are those?" Vivi asked.

One of the Wyerds roared at us. It was low and almost sounded like someone running a garbage disposal. What was worse was that they could switch our HP with theirs. That reminded me of one occasion when my little brother used cheat codes to play the game and gave himself maximum health. He ran into a pair of Wyerd and fought them for almost half an hour. His screams of irritation became kind of amusing after awhile. Right now, I felt like screaming like that.

Also, I was cold and needed mittens.

"Master Vivi!" Steiner said as he pulled out his sword.. "Prepare yourself!"

"Right." Vivi said sheepishly. He raised his staff, ready to fight.

"Princess, please stay behind us!"

"If you say so." Garnet replied.

"You two!" Steiner bellowed, indicating Zidane and myself. "Stay out of the way."

"Forget it!" Zidane yelled back at him. "Who put you in charge?"

"Pride won't let me." I told the rusty knight.

I unsheathed my sword and Zidane did the same with his daggers. Zidane and I put ourselves between the monsters and Garnet. I carefully held my sword in front of me in a Plow stance. The princess held out her staff, ready to heal us whenever needed.

It didn't really feel right cutting her off from the frontlines like this. I knew girls like her who could easily fight as well as, or better than me. Although Garnet clearly wasn't an offensive type, she wasn't the type who should remain sheltered. But it wasn't the time to be thinking that. It was time to fight, then die of frostbite after the fight.

"Lets go!"

Zidane lead off by charging at the blue beasts. Steiner was right behind him and Vivi was focusing a spell. Not one to be left behind, I ran in, holding my sword in front of me.

Zidane matched his daggers against one of the Wyerd's tusks. The daggers dug into the shell of the tusks. The Wyerd growled as it tried to bite the thief who was just out of range. Enraged, the beast lifted its head high, taking Zidane with him. A quick flick of the head and Zidane was sent sliding across the icy floor. He dug his daggers into the ice to stop himself, just in time too. He almost went over the side of the cliff.

Meanwhile, Steiner was having difficulty with the monster he was fighting. He would slash at the beast, but it would counter and throw his sword to the side. I never thought someone like Steiner would have such trouble with something like a Wyerd. I ran behind the monster and slashed it in the back. It let out a dull scream of pain, giving Steiner a perfect chance to attack its front. Steiner plunged his sword down into the monster's face, ending its life in a second.

"I told you to stay out of the way." Steiner said as he turned to face the other tusked blue fluff ball of death.

"Oh yeah! Because you weren't having any trouble a second ago." I said as I shifted my stance towards the other monster as well. I noticed at the last second that it was rushing straight at me. I threw my sword up to parry its charge, but it was too small to be sufficient for my intended feat.

It jammed a tusk against my chest and sent me flying backwards into an icy wall. As if I wasn't cold enough. My sword fell out of my grip as the wind was knocked out of me. I wrapped my hands around my stomach instinctively. Against the cold, it felt like my insides had splintered. I rested against the wall as the Wyerd ground its hoof into the icy floor, getting ready for another charge. I weakly reached for my sword and pulled it to my side.

The Wyerd reared on its hind legs and let out a battle roar, which quickly turned into a cry of pain when Zidane jumped onto its back and sank his daggers into its sides.

"Vivi! Now!" he yelled. Vivi jumped and swung his staff in the air. A fire spell exploded in the monster's face as it fell to the ground, trying to rub its face in the icy floor for relief. It didn't have long though, as Steiner stabbed it through the heart as Zidane jumped off of its back. With a final roar, the Wyerd fell to the ground, dead.

"Thanks guys." I managed to say with the little air in my lungs.

"Take it easy." Zidane said. "That was a pretty hard hit."

"I can handle it." Garnet said as she walked up and concentrated her magic into her staff. A white light engulfed the end of the staff as her power gathered. She tipped the staff in my direction and a blue beam of light surrounded me. It worked alarmingly fast. Within seconds, I felt just as good as I did before the hit. Although, I was still freezing, but I guess that was to be expected.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Much better. Thanks." I said. I stood up, still a little uneasy because I was still out of breath. I hugged my arms to my chest for warmth.

"Vivi." I said. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Um, sure. What is it?" Vivi replied.

"Set my hands on fire will you? They're frozen solid."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure that that wouldn't do you any good."

I could only chuckle lightly at Vivi's response. He was amusing. "Don't worry. I was joking."

"Look. We're all cold." Zidane said. "It'll get better if we start moving again."

We all nodded and started walking down the frozen path, shivering all the way. We found a few more walls with treasure behind them, which Vivi quickly melted. By the end, we found two potions and an elixir, as well as the ether we found earlier. It wasn't even an hour later when we finally came to the fork in the path. To the right, there was the first Black Waltz. To the left was a moogle frozen in a ball of ice. Zidane walked to the front of the group and spoke up.

"Alright. Which way do you guys think we should take?"

We looked down the path to the left, then down the path to the right. There was more light coming from the right path, which makes sense, considering that was the way out. The path to the left was a little dark. Not much darker than the part of the cavern we were in now, but enough to let anyone know that it just went deeper into the cave.

"The right pathway is clearly the way out." Steiner said. He started down the path towards the light.

"I agree with Steiner." Garnet said. She started walking towards the exit along with Steiner.

"What about you two?" Zidane asked Vivi and me.

"Um…I'll go to the right." Vivi said as he shivered. With only one person to ask left, Zidane turned to me. I couldn't help but look down the path to the left. I wanted to go to the right so that I could get out of the bloody cold, but I couldn't go on know that I left someone behind.

"I choose left."

All the others stopped in their tracks. "What?"

"Are you mad?" Steiner asked. "There is more light down this path. That surely means the exit is this way."

"Steiner is right Trevor." Garnet said softly. "I think we should take the right path."

Okay, improv time. If I told them that I knew about the moogle, when by all rights I shouldn't, it would look suspicious. It was better that the others didn't know that I wasn't from their world. It was less complicated that way. "I'm not sure why. I just feel like there's something there."

"Yeah. More ice." Zidane said sarcastically. "C'mon. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can be warm." Zidane and the others turned back and walked down the path to the right.

Well, that was it. The moogle was going to stay frozen in his ice ball prison and there was nothing I could do about it. He was going to be trapped until the ice thawed, or until someone else came along. Neither option seemed like it was going to happen for awhile. As I watched the others leave down the hallway, I realized the only choice I had.

"Guys!" I called out. They stopped and turned around. "I'll be back in a minute." I ran down the left pathway as fast as my frozen legs would carry me. This plan worked in Evil Forest. Maybe it would work here. I didn't turn around to see if the others were following. If they didn't show up, then I would carry the moogle down the path and have Vivi unfreeze him later. Either way, I wasn't going to leave him behind.

I walked into a circular room not to far down the hallway. Icicles and frozen stalagmites littered the floor. It was pretty scenic. I saw a small pillar of ice supporting a ball of ice. Inside the ice was, as I guessed, a moogle. Without Vivi around, it was going to be pretty hard getting him out of there. It seemed faster to bring the ice ball holding the fur ball to the mage of the group. Then we could be attacked by the Black Waltz and have a nice nap while Zidane took care of it. As much as I wanted to help him too, I was freezing and tired. I probably wasn't going to wake up after the spell was cast. I walked over to the ice ball to find a way to pry it loose.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I looked around and saw a very pissed off Zidane slowly walking towards me.

"Saving someone." I told him simply. I pointed to the ball of ice containing the moogle. Zidane's gaze softened as he saw the chilled expression on the captive's face.

"Told you I felt something."

"I guess you did. What now?"

"We can't just leave him like this."

"You're right."

I looked down the path where Zidane came from. No one else was there. "Where are the others?"

"I told them to keep going." Zidane answered. "There's no sense in all of us freezing in here."

"True." I turned my attention back to the task at hand. "How are we going to free him?"

Zidane approached the pillar and examined it. Without a word, he pulled out a dagger and stabbed the ice between the ice ball and the pillar. It left a small crack.

"This should work." he said. He signaled me over. "I'll break the ice at the base here while you push it from the top."

I looked at the ball of ice. I was not in any way looking forward to touching it. Especially not without gloves.

"You're just trying to give me frostbite, aren't you?" I accused him.

"Yup." Zidane went back to chipping away the ice.

I shook my head, completely unenthusiastic to do this. I already couldn't feel my fingertips. I sighed as I gave in and set my hands on the top of the ice ball. It was cold. Very, very cold.

I pushed with all of my strength as Zidane continued to chip ice away.

"You know," I said. He looked at me while he continued to attack the ice. "When I get out of here, I'm taking a nap in a sauna."

Zidane's breath showed as he laughed at the small joke. My hands continued to go numb as I continued to push at the ice. Just when I was beginning to think if I would ever have feeling in my hands again, I heard the ice crack.

"It's working." I pointed out. I pushed the ice with everything I had. Zidane even stopped stabbing the ice and helped me by pushing the ice as well. The ice ball groaned as it broke free of the pillar.

"Look out!" Zidane yelled as the ice ball fell forward. It dropped down the three feet to the ground and landed with a resounding crash. Zidane and I looked around the pillar and saw that the ball of ice had a big split down the middle.

"Um…oops." I said as I saw state of things.

"Geez. You think he's alright?" Zidane asked.

"I hope so." If only Vivi had been here. He could have unfrozen the ice no problem. Then, this wouldn't have happened.

Suddenly, the ice ball started to shake. The split down the middle grew as it shook. The crack spread open and the moogle jumped out from his icy prison.

"OOOWWWW!" the little moogle cried. "YOU BASTARDS!!!"

As if he was hit by a brick, the moogle stood wide eyed as he realized that he could finally move around again. "Oh wait. I'm free. Thanks."

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Kupo! I have a headache, but nothing major." the moogle responded.

"How did you wind up in a ball of ice?" Zidane asked.

"Some creepy clown put me in there. I was freezing."

"Tell me about it."

"Hey, he's free, so can we leave now?" I asked. I was _still_ cold.

"Sure." Zidane said. We turned and left to join up with the others.

"Goodbye, kupo!" the little moogle graciously said. "Thanks for your help! Kupo!"

"Nice guy." I said as we left the room.

"Yeah." Zidane agreed.

We rounded the corner and headed to the right pathway this time. As we entered the next room, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped another ten degrees. My arms glued themselves at my sides.

"GAH! Too cold!" I cried as a chilling breeze hit me.

"Hey," Zidane said. "Isn't that Garnet?"

I looked up and saw an orange figure laying on the icy ground up ahead. Zidane ran up to her side and pulled her into his lap. I kind of shuffled along.

"Is she alright?" I asked.

Zidane checked her pulse while he held her. "Well, she's alive." Zidane kept holding Garnet while he looked around the room. "Where are Vivi and Rusty?" he asked. "They should be here helping her."

"Found 'em." I called out as I stood next to the small drop from the path. Vivi was sleeping on his side and Steiner had collapsed on his back. It was a miracle the he didn't land on Vivi. I jumped down the six foot drop to see if they really were okay. After a quick check of their pulses, I climbed back up the ledge.

"Well, they're alive." I told Zidane.

"Dammit!" he said. "We have to drag them out now."

"Don't worry. It's not that much further until we reach the exit."

"How do you know?"

"Uhh…" I was lucky that I didn't need to explain my slip up to Zidane because a second later, a ring that sounded like a single wind chime echoed through the cave. It wasn't very loud, but it was obvious enough.

"You hear that?" I asked.

"Yeah." Zidane said and pointed down the hallway in the direction of the exit. "It sounded like it came from over there. Is someone there?"

"Let's find out." I suggested. Zidane nodded and we both started shuffling down the path, towards a battle I wasn't excited for.

Did I mention that I hated the cold?

----------------

Author's note- I just thought that I should tell everyone that the story Trevor tells at the beginning of the chapter is in fact, true (except for the names). I know. I'm evil.

Beta's note- He's not kidding either, it was so funny that I want do it to him again! Can we? Can we? Please?!


	7. Boss Fight! Black Waltz 1

Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story and I doubt I ever will.

Definitions

Plow stance- When one stands in an L stance with his/her sword held at hip level and the tip aimed at the enemy's head or throat.

Chapter 7: Boss Fight! Black Waltz 1

----------------

The tunnel Zidane and I walked down opened up into a much wider cavern. The path continued in the same room, but it zigzagged once, upwards towards the exiting doorway with light pouring through. There was a waterfall frozen in place over a pool of water. Thin strands of ice spiraled off of the point of impact from the waterfall. It just gave me a pretty good idea of how fast this cold snap must have hit the cavern. Damn cold snap.

"Do you see anything?" Zidane asked.

"No. Nothing." Actually, all I really saw was ice and more ice. I was walking with my hand resting on the hilt of my sword. If my grip left my sword for even a slight moment, the frost in the air would freeze the metal on the sword, which would make holding my sword almost unbearable.

The air was only getting colder. I just wanted to get this fight over with. The sooner it was done, the sooner I could start basking in the sunlight.

"I dunno." Zidane said. "Maybe we were just hearing things."

"I doubt it." If I let Zidane turn back now and start dragging the others out, they might get caught in the fight with the Black Waltz. Where the hell was the Black Waltz anyway?

"Trevor, I'm going to go back and take the others out of here. I could use a hand-"

"Wait." I said as I threw a hand up to silence him. "You hear that?"

"No."

That made sense, considering that I made it up and was just stalling for time so that none of the others would be in harm's way.

"I thought I heard that bell again."

"If you say so." Zidane said. It was obvious that he wasn't too concerned with anything jumping out to attack. He looked around suspiciously, but when he didn't see anything, he relaxed.

"Look, the others are freezing to death." he said. "We need to get them out of here."

I couldn't fight him on this anymore. I was out of ways to stall for now without causing suspicion that I didn't need. I had no choice but to agree with him. "Yeah, right." I said with a defeated sigh. "Let's go."

We turned around and headed back into the cave to retrieve the others. We had walked about ten feet when we heard a single wind chime behind us again.

"Alright," Zidane said as he turned around. "I heard that one."

I turned back just in time to see a red shirted figure with black wings standing on the pathway further on ahead. I knew it was the first Black Waltz.

"Why didn't you fall asleep?" the figure yelled.

Zidane took out his daggers and I unsheathed my sword. Zidane stood in his usual fighting stance. I stepped back a step and stood in a Plow stance.

"You should be dead by now." the Black Mage cackled.

"Are you the one causing this blizzard?" Zidane asked harshly. I couldn't blame him. I would yell too if my lips weren't frozen together. Damn I hated the cold.

The Black Waltz dropped down to fight on our level. He was shorter than I thought he would be. He only came up to about my chest level. "Hee-hee-hee…That's right!" the midget said.

With a flick of the wrist, the Black Waltz snapped his bell back and a speck of light fell out of it. It landed softly to the ground next to the Black Waltz, who then cast Blizzaga on the same spot. An enormous spike of ice shot out of the ground. Several smaller spike followed it on its sides. After a short moment, the spikes broke apart and the colossal Sealion stood in its place instead.

"Oh great." I heard Zidane whisper.

The Sealion was huge. Its arms molded into webbed fingers tipped with claws. It had a fin at the end of each of its two tails. Then there was the glowing blue gem in the center of its stomach. It was also covered in a thin sheet of ice armor. In other words, we were screwed.

"Go Sealion!" the Black Waltz called. "Crush them!"

The Sealion raised its clawed wings and swung them down at us. I tumbled out of the way as the icy claws came down and raked the frozen floor. It pulled its claws away, leaving deep gashes in the ground. I didn't think that the Sealion would have any problems ripping a tank apart.

I stuck my sword in the ground and looked around for Zidane. He was nowhere in sight.

Okay, think carefully. There's a psychotic mage and a huge monster trying to kill me, and I don't know where Zidane is. Peachy.

I jumped backwards again, narrowly avoiding another attack from the Sealion. I missed it by inches, but I was able to notice how slow the Sealion was. And lucky me, my fighting style made me extremely agile and fast. Think acrobatic dancer with a knife. As long as I stayed focused, I could win, even against these two.

"Dodge this!"

I turned my head and saw the Black Waltz swing his bell at me. A second later, a Blizzard spell appeared in the form of a very big ball of ice. I covered my head with my arms as best as I could, but the spell cracked apart and one of the pieces hit me right in the stomach. Fighting in this world wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. Oh, well. As long as he didn't cast fire at me. Blizzard was bad, but considering how cold as I was now, if I was hit by a fireball, the shock to my system would almost certainly kill me.

"Take this!" the Black Waltz yelled again.

As if the Black Waltz could read minds, I felt the air heat up around me. Time slowed down. The warmth was nice, but I started to duck into a roll. I knew I wasn't going fast enough. My heart was already going into overdrive just keeping my body warm enough to survive in the frigid environment. The heat from a Fire spell would overexcite it and cause it to collapse. And I didn't even get to try out any more swords. Damn.

I felt the wind get knocked out of me as I was pushed onto my side. The Fire spell went off above me, without leaving any damage. I looked down and saw Zidane had knocked me over to save me from the attack. He was now standing up where the fireball had gone off. Fortunately, he had avoided the attack as well.

"Zidane?"

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine." I said as I stood up and my lungs slowly refilled. "Where the hell were you?"

"I was trying to sneak around behind the mage." he said in a whisper.

That explained a lot.

"Give up now and die." The Black Waltz called out. The Sealion let out a roar in agreement.

"Distract the big thing." Zidane ordered. "I'll take out the mage."

"If you insist."

Zidane ran off somewhere, leaving me with a criminally insane nut job with a bell and a walrus that weighed more than the state of Rhode Island. _I'm so screwed._

The Sealion swung his wing at me. I threw all of my body weight into my counter attack. My sword met the claws in midair. Despite my efforts, the attack was too strong. The Sealion's attack threw me backwards against a wall. My lungs burned, having the air knocked out of them for the second time that fight. I guess trying to match strength against something like the Sealion was just stupid.

I picked myself up and steadied myself as best I could, which wasn't very well considering that I was out of breath and was slowly freezing to death. I stuck my sword into the ground and rested on it for a moment.

"Tired already?" the Black Waltz sneered.

"Not too tired to kick your ass."

"You look like you're about to collapse."

I guess I did. It was going to take awhile before I really recovered from that hit. I shakily stood up and held my sword in a Plow stance. It was hard to breath and I couldn't feel my fingertips or toes, going up against two dangerous enemies who had just about every advantage. Whatever Zidane was going to do he would have top hurry up.

Regardless, I had to buy him time. I switched from a Plow stance to a Zorn-hut as I charged at the massive Sealion. It swiped at me, but I was faster. I jumped to the side to avoid the hit and kept running. By now, the Sealion was between me and the Black Waltz, cutting off any likelihood of a magical attack. I got in close and used all of my strength to cut deep into its armor plating. The Sealion let out a cry of pain and anger.

"Heheh. Nice try." the Black Waltz said. He swung his bell at his ally and a Blizzard spell was cast over the injury. Within seconds, the armor on the Sealion was restored.

"You can't beat Sealion!" the Black Waltz bellowed. "As long as I'm here, he's invincible!"

"Thanks for the tip!"

The Black Waltz turned around just in time to see Zidane flying through the air with his daggers leading the charge. The midget mage looked on in horror as the thief came ever closer. He put his hands up defensively, but to no avail. Zidane pierced the Black Waltz through his chest and the side of his neck. As the rest of Zidane fell upon the dying body of the first Black Waltz, his weight forced the daggers even deeper into the dark-hearted kidnapper. I could see the blood soaking through in the snow on the ground.

Zidane leapt off of the mage as he was in his death throes.

"S-Sealion…" the Black Waltz uttered his last words. "Kill them for me." With that, he shuttered and died.

"Where were you all this time?" I asked as Zidane joined my side again.

"I followed the path and jumped when I was behind him."

"Took you long enough."

"Heh. Sorry." Zidane said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue vial that I recognized as a potion. "You look like you could use this."

"Many thanks." I said enthusiastically as I took the vial from him. I drank the whole thing in one gulp. In an instant, all of my injuries were erased. My breathing returned to normal, my muscles relaxed, and any semblance of pain left me. But I was still cold.

"How are we going to beat it?" Zidane asked.

"If we get rid of the armor, he shouldn't be too hard to kill." I said.

"How do we do that?"

"Just chop it away. It fell apart no problem when I attacked it earlier."

The Sealion, as if in regret for the death of its master, let out a howl of despair. The green gem on its chest changed from green to yellow.

"Bloody hell."

"What?" Zidane asked in a worried tone.

"That thing on its chest changed color."

Zidane glanced at the glowing gem on the Sealion and his eyes went wide with concern.

"Any idea what that means?" he asked.

"It's probably a power boost." I explained. "It'll be faster and stronger now. Try not to get hit."

"I'd do that anyway."

We readied ourselves again as the Sealion raked the ground by its side with its claws. It let out a furious battle cry as it set its eyes on us.

"Any ideas on how to beat it now that it's enraged?" Zidane asked.

"I have one idea." I said. I lifted my sword up and reversed the grip of my right hand. Now, my thumbs were pointing to each other on the handle of my sword.

"I'll go in first and you finish it off."

One of the many things I went to Sword Club to do was to learn how to fight with swords. One of the other things, however, was to come up with new techniques, an ability I was quite proud of. Some of them were really complex, and some were pretty simple. This one was one of the simpler ones.

I held the handle of my sword out in front of myself as I charged at the beast. The Sealion, having learned from the battle so far, swept a clawed wing in front of me, rather than at me, digging the wing in the frozen ground. Instinctively, I skidded to a halt. The Sealion took its chance and swung its other claw at me. I braced for impact.

The impact never came. I looked over and saw Zidane holding the wing at bay with his daggers. "Keep going." he yelled. I didn't need to be told twice. I ran around the wing dug into the ground and made my way to the Sealion's stomach. I twisted back and started to spin my sword into the monster's gut.

The first cut was just a horizontal slash, cutting across from the Sealion's left to its right. I continued the spin and raised my sword for the next cut, which struck it above the first entry cut, but traveled diagonally down towards the ground. I continued the spin and leveled my sword low to the ground. The next slash was the same as the last cut, but it cut diagonally in the other direction, upwards, rather than downwards. I continued the spin and stopped so that I stood facing the beast before myself. I repositioned the sword in my grasp so that I was once again holding it correctly, with both thumbs facing the blade. I raised my sword high over my head and thrust it down, connecting with all the other slashes, forming an eight pointed asterisk. Hence the technique's name: the Asterisk Slash. Lame, I know, but I'm not good at coming up with names.

It was a powerful attack when used correctly, but it had two main flaws. The first was that, due to how much the attack left my back exposed, it couldn't be used against an opponent like a human. The second flaw, and the side effect I was now suffering from, was that it left the attacker dizzy for a moment. I planted my feet to steady myself, but doing that next to a rampaging monster is almost never a good idea. Needless to say, I got thrown into another wall by a swipe from the Sealion's wing. Walls were quickly becoming my greatest enemies.

"Trevor!"

I looked up and saw that Zidane had backed off from his hold on the Sealion's wing. He stood in his usual attack stance and watched as the Sealion gripped its stomach in pain. Apparently, I scratched more than the armor. The gem on its stomach was now glowing a bright red. I was going to be really happy when this fight was over.

"Zidane. The thing on its chest is red. Be careful."

"Right."

Zidane charged straight for the Sealion, clearly intent on ending the fight so that we could leave this freezing hell hole. Geez, I was cold.

Unfortunately, Zidane never got a chance to finish the fight early. Right when he was about to slash open the monster's belly, he was hit with the Sealion's deadly Tsunami attack. The wave of water sent him flying back onto the icy floor. I can't imagine what that must have done to his internal systems. His heart would be going crazy just to keep the rest of his body warm. Zidane rolled to a stop and laid on his back, motionless.

"Zidane!"

I blinked when I saw a spark shoot out of Zidane's chest, but I calmed myself when I saw that it was followed by several more. After a few seconds, Zidane was engulfed in light and emerged glowing a bright pink. Once again, Zidane had gone into Trance.

Zidane looked at his daggers curiously, then glanced back over to me. "Hold this for a moment, will you?" He slid one of the daggers he was holding over to me and pulled out another one from behind his back. It was wider at the tip than his last dagger and it was tinted red. I recognized it as the Mage Masher.

"Where did you get that?"

"Snatched it off of Baku a while back."

I don't know why Zidane wasn't using it to begin with, but now wasn't really the time to be asking questions like that.

"Can you move yet?" Zidane asked.

I stood up and pulled some of my hair out of my face. Its length did get in the way of combat at times. I was going to have to buy a hair tie somewhere.

"Alright." I said as I walked to stand next to Zidane. I stood in a Plow stance when I was at his side. "I'm good."

"Good. I need you to buy me a minute." Zidane spread his arms to his sides and concentrated his magic. The tips of his blades were facing the ceiling.

"Alright, but you'll owe me another potion if I get hurt." I took off running as I finished talking.

I ran out and flanked the Sealion on its left. I ran as fast as I could to appear as more of a threat. I was at the Sealion's side when it decided to attack me. It batted a wing straight at me like I was a piece of dust. I deflected most of the attack by meeting it with my sword like before, but this time, I brushed passed it and fell into a roll while the Sealion's wing followed through into the wall.

I picked myself up and continued my run up the path. The Sealion was between Zidane and myself. I turned and cut deep into the monster's armor. It roared in pain as the blade sank into its flesh. Reflexively, it spun and swatted me away. I rolled up the small hill the path followed and wound up on my back. It was still better than running into another wall.

I rolled over onto my stomach and pushed myself up. The Sealion towered over me. Its gaze seemed to say "I'm going to kill you _very_ slowly." I was worried until I heard Zidane's voice.

"Tidal Flame!"

A wall of flame formed behind the Sealion and threatened to engulf him. It grew to twenty feet in height, high enough to burn all of the Sealion. I ran further up the path to get out of the way of danger and to get a better view of the attack. The Sealion managed to turn around and cast another Tsunami attack at the last second.

Fire met water and a geyser of steam erupted in the middle of it all. They both fought as hard as they could. Zidane still had a lot of power left from his Trance, but the gem on the Sealion's chest was glowing red, the strongest it could be. Both waves fought for supremacy as they flowed into each other. It really was too close to call. But judging the amount of energy Zidane was putting into this attack, if he didn't land this attack, he would collapse from exhaustion and we would both die in the resulting bloodbath. In other words, I had to help.

I sheathed my sword and knelt down to pick up a handful of snow.

The battle raged on between Zidane and the frozen monster. Both showed some signs of weakening, but Zidane's signs were much more obvious. The Tidal Flame wavered and was pushed back. Zidane did everything he could to keep it flowing as powerfully as he could, but it wasn't enough. The Tsunami pushed farther and farther, until it was about to hit everything on Zidane's side of the cave. If I was going to assist, it would have to be now.

"Snowball fight!"

A well formed snowball flew through the air. It hit the Sealion right in the back of the head. It flinched when the snowball hit. The Tsunami wavered as the Sealion recovered from the distraction. It focused again and pressed the attack. My response was to throw another snowball. I managed to hit it right in the ear, or rather, where its ear would have been. I didn't know enough about the anatomy of giant evil walruses made of ice.

The Tsunami shook and slowly retreated. Zidane redoubled his efforts and pressed his attack. The Tidal Flame moved forward, closer to its target. Snowball after snowball hit their target and the Sealion's attack backed down. It wasn't long until the scene had shifted completely. Now, the Sealion was struggling to stay alive. Just a little more and that would change too. I packed more snow together and made a nice oversized snowball big as a basketball. I heaved the massive snowball over my shoulder and threw it as hard as I could.

It hit the Sealion square in its right side. Things couldn't have gone any better. The Tsunami fell and the Sealion was overcome by fire. It roared in anger as it was swallowed by the Tidal Flame, burning every inch of it.

With flailing arms, the Sealion's armor melted, leaving the rest of it exposed for the rest of the attack. The wound I inflicted when I hit it with the Asterisk Strike was singed and curled up on itself. The rest of the Sealion turned a light shade of brown and sank in on itself, quickly burning away into dust. In less than a minute, every trace of the Sealion was gone. The only evidence of a fight left was the bloodied corpse of the Black Waltz. Zidane's Trance faded and he fell to his knees in exhaustion.

"You alright?" I yelled as I walked down from my spot on the hillside path.

"I'm just tired." he said between breaths. He shakily stood up and sheathed his daggers. I ran down the path to join him. The once frozen waterfall in the room was flowing again. Apparently, some of Zidane's attack affected the water and heated it. It let off steam and became its own little hot spring.

As the water flowed in the pool, the air in the cavern warmed slowly. It wasn't much, but a little change was better than none.

"Well. That was fun." I said.

"You have a weird sense of what's fun." Zidane commented.

"You defeated Number One," a naisily voice echoed throughout the cave. "But Number Two and Number Three will reclaim the princess!"

"Who's there?" Zidane asked. I knew it was Zorn and Thorn, the jesters from Alexandria. They sounded more annoying than I thought they would, like they had stuffed tennis balls up their noses. We looked around, but no one was around. I even checked up on the ridge overlooking the area where the bumbling duo was supposed to be watching, but they weren't there. Perhaps they had already run off.

I looked back at the Black Waltz's corpse. "What'll we do with him?"

"Cover him up in the snow I guess."

"Why?" It had always confused me why Zidane didn't bother telling the others about the Black Waltz until the second one attacked.

"That voice said that there would be others after the princess."

"Yeah. Wouldn't it be better if they knew about it? They would be ready that way."

"If that knight found out about it, he might try even harder to get the princess back to Alexandria."

It was true. While we were traveling in the valley, Steiner had taken every opportunity he was given to tell Garnet to go back to the castle. If he knew someone was after her, he'd go insane.

"Alright." I said. "You go back and check on the others and I'll hide the body."

Zidane nodded, then headed down the path where the other three were sleeping. They were probably waking up by now, so I had to hurry and get this body covered.

I knelt down and looked at the Black Waltz. For some reason, I had a bit of regret for him. What if he wasn't awake? What if he was like the Black Mages who attacked Lindblum, or rather, would attack Lindblum. If that was the case, then did I have the right to kill them?

_They attacked you._ I told myself. _You killed in self defense._

Whatever. Either way, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

I started shoveling snow with my bare hands onto the Black Waltz. My hands started to sting really fast. As soon as I was done with this, I was running out of the cavern and basking in the sun. I shoveled another load of snow onto the mage. By now, most of his body, and all of the blood, was covered in a thin blanket of snow.

My eyes happened to gaze across a small pouch that rested next to my former adversary. It was about the size of a grapefruit and had small lumps covering it. I grabbed the pouch and opened it up.

Inside the pouch was a huge amount of gold, all of it in coin form. I pulled out a few pieces and examined them. There were numbers stamped onto the surfaces. Ten. Twenty. One hundred. There was even one that said a thousand.

I had found a small fortune in Gil.

"Done exploring yet?" came Zidane's voice from behind me.

I turned and saw Zidane standing with Steiner, Garnet and Vivi. They were all shivering. That was to be expected I guess. But what really caught my attention was that Zidane mentioned exploration. It seemed that he was just making a cover story.

"Yeah." I said. "I'm done."

"So no one ambushed us?" Vivi asked. Zidane must have come up with quite a story.

"Not that I could see."

Steiner took three massive steps towards me and gave me his best death stare. If I hadn't just gotten done fighting the Sealion, I might have been intimidated.

"What?"

"I know you're hiding something." Steiner roared. "You and that monkey!" Steiner pointed angrily at Zidane. "If I find out that you have endangered the princess, I will have your head!"

I was tired and I was freezing. I didn't feel like putting up with Steiner's rants anymore. But, irritated as I was, I kept myself in check and didn't smack him in the forehead like I wanted to.

"Fine. Whatever."

"Enough fighting." Garnet interrupted. "May we leave now?"

Everyone settled down quickly and silently agreed that leaving was the best idea at the moment.

----------------

"We made it through the Mist!" Garnet said as we finally got to see sunlight again. She spread her arms out and stretched them. "Oh, the sun feels great!"

"WARM!" I dashed out of the cavern, did a belly flop onto the path, and hogged as much warm sunlight as I could. Garnet was right. The sun did feel great.

Zidane took a quick look around and saw the small village of Dali far off in the distance. "Look, there's a village." he said. "I think I've been there before…" Everyone gazed into the distance to see it. I just lazily turned my head and looked at a sideways view of the world. There it was. Dali. The village where Black Mages were secretly created in an underground lab paid for by the Alexandrian government. It was a massive conspiracy in the realm of Black Magic; the likes of which had never before been seen on Gaia.

_I wonder if they have pancakes there?_

I sat up for the sake of dignity, what little I had left, and sat cross legged as I looked out at the plain we were going to have to cross. Dali seemed to be about three miles out. We could easily be there by nightfall. The sun was hanging low in the sky. We only had a few hours of daylight left. Then I would get a nice, comfy, _warm_ bed. Then pancakes.

"Let's go visit." I heard Garnet say. She started down the path towards Dali. _Wow, I really need to stop daydreaming._

"Wait. Hold it." Zidane said, stopping Garnet in her tracks. "You're a princess! You can't just go rushing in there. People are looking for you. You need a new identity."

"Insolent fool!" Steiner bellowed. Seriously, how did he manage to keep screaming like that? "The princess need not sneak around! Besides, we're heading back to the castle. You leave her alone. And you will address her as 'Princess' from now on, you ignorant peasant!"

Steiner finished his rant up by pushing Zidane in the chest, causing Zidane to drop one of his daggers. It bounced down the pathway, nearly hitting Garnet along the way.

"Dammit, Rusty!" Zidane yelled back. He stomped the ground beneath his feet in anger. "Why don't you just shut up? Who do you think you are? I don't take orders from a stuck-up jerk like you!"

"You guys!" Vivi complained.

"Hey!" I said along with Vivi.

"Stop it, you two!" Garnet said after Vivi and me. Fortunately, they stopped after she said something. "…Steiner, I do not intend to return to the castle. And I do see Zidane's point. I need a new name... Zidane… What is this called?"

"That? That's a dagger." Zidane said, as a matter of factly. "All knives of that length are called daggers. Short swords are a bit longer. The big sword you hold with both hands is called a broadsword. And…"

"Oh, okay… I understand now." Zidane sadly hung his head low. He finally had a chance to show of his intellect about something and was cut short. Too bad.

"So this is called a 'dagger'…" Garnet wondered aloud.

"Princess! It's a weapon! Please be careful." Steiner said with a horrified expression. It wasn't as severe as the one I induced Cinna into when I told him how his doll could have been destroyed when the Prima Vista crashed, but it was still pretty amusing.

"I've decided!" Garnet said proudly. "From now on, I will be called Dagger." She smiled as she asked, "What do you think, Zidane?"

"Great, Dagger." he said, trying out her new name. "Now, let's work on your speech… Try to sound more casual. Like me."

"I shall try." Garnet, or rather Dagger, said.

"No, no, no…" Zidane said. He waved his hands in front of him to gesture his disapproval. He turned to Vivi in thought. I knew he was wondering "What would Vivi say?" Hooray for memorizing the game's script! Zidane's glance earned a confused look from the little mage.

"Just say... 'Alrighty.'" Zidane instructed.

"A-Alrighty!" Dagger said, trying out the new word like it was a foreign language.

"You're getting the hang of it!" Zidane complimented. Dagger gave him a shy smile back. This early into the story and these two were already falling for each other. "Well… Let's go."

I stood up and we all walked down in single file towards Dali. A village with warm beds. A village involved in a dark project.

And hopefully, a village with pancakes!

----------------

Okay people, I need reviews. They reassure me that I'm doing a good job, and make me want to work harder. I put a lot, a lot, of work into this fight scene and would appreciate a few reviews telling me if it was worth it. I need feedback to know how I can improve on things, because I know my story isn't perfect. Thanks.


	8. Pancakey Goodness

Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's note: Classes have started up and I have lots of reading to do for them, so chapters may take longer to write now. Sorry guys. But don't worry, I'm not stopping this series. Especially now that this is the chapter where things start getting weird.

Thanks again to Dragoon Swordsman for the moral support.

Chapter 8: Pancake-y Goodness!

----------------

"KNOCK IT OFF!!!" I yelled for the umpteenth time.

"Just ignore it." Zidane said. "It'll go away eventually."

We were passing through a forest between the Ice Cavern and Dali. It was a much shorter route than it would have been if we had walked around it. The only problem was that we had a better chance of running into a monster. And lo and behold, we found one.

A Mu was now jumping through the trees, throwing rocks at us every once in a while. And by us, I mean me. The blue squirrel would throw a rock at my head, laugh, then run off for a minute or two, only to return and repeat the whole process over again. It had a scar running from its forehead down to its chin in the shape of a long 'S'. I made a note to remember that.

"I tried that already, remember?"

"I don't think five minutes was enough time."

"Vivi, can't you cast something and make it blow up?"

"I'm sorry." the timid mage said. "I'm really low on magic."

"Trevor," Zidane started up again. "Stop yelling at it and it'll get bored and leave."

"He's been throwing rocks at me for the last half hour. I'm getting a headache." I explained. "Besides, if it was happening to you, you'd get-"

Thud 

"DAMMIT! KNOCK IT OFF!"

----------------

It wasn't long before we arrived at Dali. It was a quiet farming town with small houses and buildings, all set on the same road running the length of town. The quiet town greeted us with a nice sunset and a windmill, busily spinning along, much to Vivi's delight.

"Gee whiz, a windmill!" he said.

Zidane turned to the first building on our right. "Vivi," he called out. "The inn is this way!"

"Aw, do we have to?" Vivi complained. "But I wanna go see the windmill." He seemed like a child now more than ever.

"I know. But let's get some rest first. We also need to decide what to do next."

Vivi slumped his shoulders down in disappointment and followed the rest of us inside the small inn.

The inn was about the same as it was in the game. It was still a one room lobby, leading off to another room for up to four guests. The fight for who got to sleep in a bed would be interesting.

The lobby was lit by the scarce amount of sunlight coming in through the window and a fire roaring away in the fireplace. A small water fountain dribbled on the side next to the front desk, adding to the calming atmosphere. The floor was decorated with stone rather than tiles. It gave it a 'You are now living in a cave' kind of feeling. It was sort of concerning, due to the moss growing between each rock, but who am I to judge design like that? I never even had so much as a calendar on my wall back in my dorm. _I wonder how everyone back on campus is doing?_

I was taken out of my thoughts when I heard a soft 'Mew' from the fireplace. I walked around it and saw a tiny brown kitten looking at the inn's new guests attentively. It was so cute, I just had to pat it on the head.

"Sleeping on the job?" Zidane said as he stood next to the sleeping innkeeper at the front desk. Zidane tapped his knuckles on the desk next to the sleeping man's head. The innkeeper stirred and rubbed his eyes awake.

"Oh, I'm sorr…y. ..." the innkeeper apologized. I continued to scratch the kitten's head through the whole thing.

"Hey, I know she's cute, but it's rude of you to stare."

"I'm not a girl." I said irritably. "I just have long hair."

"I was talking about Dagger."

"Oh… Reflex." I paused as I made a mental note to stop zoning out like that.

"Oh, I-I wasn't looking at the young lady. I was just…" The innkeeper paused and collected himself. "The room is right over there. Make yourselves at home."

Zidane, Vivi and I made our way to the bedroom door. Steiner and Dagger stayed back.

"Um… Zidane?" Dagger asked. "Where will I be staying?"

"In the same room." he answered. "Where else?"

"But, Zidane… I mustn't…"

"I understand how you feel, but these country inns don't have private rooms." Zidane opened the door and raised his arm to show everyone into the room. "Get inside, everyone."

The bedroom was as I expected it. There was a vanity mirror off to the left and a small bookcase off to the right. A small table stood in the center of the room. It looked like the only thing it was used for was getting in the way. Unfortunately, as I was afraid, there were only four beds for the five of us. They stood in the four corners of the rounded room.

We walked into the room and stood in the center of the room. Zidane leaned against the bedpost of the far left bed.

"Tell me one thing before we go to sleep." he asked. "Why did you wanna leave the castle, Dagger?"

"If the theater ship hadn't crashed…" she explained.

"It would've arrived at the neighboring regency of Lindblum. You were gonna leave Alexandria!?" Zidane put his hand to his chin in thought. "I see. If you hadn't been caught, you would've reached Lindblum by now. But now… We'll have to cross South Gate on foot. Border crossing, huh?"

"Oh boy." I said. "I've always wanted to be a felon!"

"You ARE a felon, you miscreant!" Steiner yelled. "You helped kidnap the princess."

"Everyone, there is a reason I must leave this kingdom." Dagger said. "I cannot tell you why… But…please…"

"I understand." Zidane told her. "We'll get you to Lindblum somehow."

"We?"

Zidane turned to me and asked, "Trevor, you'll help, won't you?"

"Of course." I said. "It'll be fun."

"I've heard enough!" Steiner declared. "Princess, you cannot trust the words of a thief! He may expose you to even more danger, like he did in Evil Forest! I beg of you, Princess. Please return with me to the castle."

"I know I screwed up in Evil Forest." Zidane admitted. "But there's no doubt in my mind now. I'll protect Dagger with my life!"

"Don't be ridiculous! It is I who will protect the princess, now and forever!"

"Then tell me. How do you intend to take her back to the castle?"

"I-I will think of a way..."

There was an awkward pause, followed by light snores that came from behind us. We turned and saw Vivi sleeping on one of the beds.

"Master Vivi..." Steiner said sympathetically.

"He was tired." Zidane said. "But you had to go on a tirade."

"What!?"

"Let's go to sleep."

"That brings up our next problem." I mentioned. "There's only three more beds."

The others looked around and the problem dawned on them too. Zidane quickly thought of a solution.

"Well, Vivi's already asleep, and Dagger's a girl, so they both get beds."

"Oh, you don't have to-" Dagger started to say, but was cut off when Zidane raised a hand to silence her.

"So it's between the rest of us." he finished.

"Neither of you deserve a bed for abducting the princess." Steiner yelled.

"Shut up!" I warned. "You'll wake up Vivi."

Steiner bit his lips together to stay quiet and to quell the rage boiling inside of himself.

"Just give me a pillow." I said. "I'll sleep on the floor."

"No, Trevor, you don't have to." Dagger insisted.

"Don't worry about it." I said. "My mattress back at my university felt like a brick." I told everyone else that I went to Alexandria University when I said that I was a college student. It was so vague, it had to work, and sure enough, it did. It turned out that Alexandria University was just a few miles away from the castle. "As long as I have a pillow, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Zidane asked. "That Mu really did a number on you."

I rubbed the back of my head where most of the rocks hit me. "Yeah, but it's not that bad." Dagger was able to cure me, so there weren't any bumps and my headache was gone.

"Alright." Zidane said, giving up on the argument. "Good night guys."

Another round of 'Good nights' came from Dagger and myself. Zidane and Dagger walked towards the beds farthest away from the door, leaving Steiner with the bed next to Vivi's. I quickly snatched Steiner's pillow away before he could stop me.

"Hey!" he protested.

"That's what you get for calling me a miscreant." I said. If I was going to steal someone's pillow, why not Steiner's?

I took the pillow and curled up next to the vanity mirror on the left side of the room. It wasn't very comfortable, but it would work. The fight from earlier against the Black Waltz and Sealion, not to mention the verbal abuse I gave that evil Mu, left me really tired now that I had a chance to relax. I was asleep within minutes.

----------------

I woke up with a painful crick in my neck. I was lying against the vanity mirror in the darkened inn. I stood up, rubbing my neck, and looked to see who else was up. Zidane was till passed out on top of his sheets. Vivi still had his hat resting on his face. Cute. Steiner was snoring loudly. At least he wasn't talking about robbing someplace in his sleep like my roommate always did.

Only Dagger's bed was empty. She must have woken up earlier and left to explore the town. That sounded like a good idea. I crept my way out of the room, careful not to wake anyone else up.

The lobby was only lit by the fireplace. The morning sunrise cast a small ray of light through the window across the room. The kitten from the other day was still hanging out around the fireplace. It let out a tiny purr after a quick scratch behind the ears. The only thing missing was the innkeeper.

Speak of the devil, he came in through the front doors right after I noticed he was missing.

"Good morning sir." he said. "I hope you slept well." He was grinning like an idiot. He must have gotten back from telling the mayor about Vivi. That son of a bitch!

I wanted to beat the hell out of this guy. Because of him, Vivi was going to be stuffed in a box and possibly scarred. Unfortunately, if I did start a fight here, it would no doubt cause more problems than I could deal with later. And I couldn't get Vivi out of the village. If I did, it would mess up the rest of the story far too much. I was in a no win situation.

However, I knew things about what was going on that no one in this world was supposed to know. I could use that for some more psychological warfare! Just like with Cinna, only this time, I wanted to do damage. I could tell that the innkeeper was a coward. This would be easy.

"Sir? Are you okay?" the innkeeper asked again.

I looked at him with the most terrifying death stare I could, which, from what I've been told by my friends, isn't very scary. Regardless, it did the job. The innkeeper took on a sudden look of dread, as if he was trapped in a dark alley and I had a gun pointed at his head.

"W-w-what is it s-sir?" he asked with a nervous smile.

"You just got back from your brother's house. He's the mayor here, isn't he?" I said, using the darkest voice I could maintain.

"W-what? How do you know-"

"You were opposed to the project at first. Of course they would choose here to work. This was just a small farming village in the middle of nowhere. Who would suspect anything? You said that they should all keep working on the farm, but after they started making all the money, the farm shrank to its current size. Now, only you and the old woman wanted the farm." The innkeeper's eyes went wide as I ran off a list of things that, as far as he knew, I shouldn't know.

"Or that's how it was." I added as I slowly walked towards him. "You've changed your opinion and have switched sides as it convenienced you. Now, you're even worse than the rest of them. They're in this for profit. That's corrupt enough, but you're in it for profit at the cost of another's freedom and happiness."

The innkeeper looked like he was about to pass out. He was backed against the desk as far as he could go. He looked like he was about to burst into tears. I'm not one for bullying anyone, ever, but this guy had it coming. I unsheathed my sword and rested the tip against his chest.

"You disgust me!" I said as menacingly as I could.

The innkeeper just curled up into a ball defensively on the floor against his desk. I gave him one last death stare, then turned away and headed out the front door. I sheathed my sword before I exited.

I turned from the inn and headed to the tavern down the street. It felt pretty good getting that anger out of my head. I had an anger problem years before, but I was able to find ways to vent my frustration in little ways after my anger got me in trouble a few times. I didn't really like thinking about it.

But enough about my issues. There were pancakes to be eaten!

I walked into the small tavern. It wasn't anything more than a few chairs in front of a counter. It was lit by a light hanging from the center of the room.

"Welcome!" came a voice beyond the counter. I peered over and saw a little girl in a pink apron. She couldn't have been older than twelve. "May I help you?" she asked.

How could a twelve year old be left to run a place like this?

"Yeah. Is this a place where a guy could get something to eat?"

"Yes. Our breakfast menu is posted on the wall over there." she said, pointing to the right side of the counter. "We also sell potions and antidotes." I walked over and sure enough, pancakes were listed as one for two Gil. Considering the amount I plucked off of the Black Waltz, I could buy as many pancakes as I wanted.

"Could I get you something?"

Well, I hadn't had pancakes in more than a week. Also it was early, so I wasn't too hungry. "Alright," I decided. "I'll have eighteen pancakes."

The girl's expression was hilarious. It was a mixture of joy and confusion. She had a kind smile and practically had nothing more than little black dots for eyes. She looked like an anime character.

"…E-eighteen?"

"Yup."

"…Eighteen?"

"You got it."

"Can you eat that many?"

"Only one way to find out, isn't there?"

"…If you insist." She went to work, pulling out pots and pans and started making the batter. She seemed to know her way around the place pretty well. It made me wonder how long she had been doing this. I sat back in my chair and waited as the aroma of pancakes slowly filled the room.

"Trevor?"

I lazily spun around in my chair and saw Dagger standing in the doorway.

"Hey Dagger. How's it going?"

"Oh…I'm fine." she said, having some troubles with the words.

"Have you eaten yet?" I asked as I sat up straight. I didn't want to look like a slob by slouching in a chair.

"No I haven't." she said.

"Why don't you join me then? I just ordered a whole bunch of pancakes."

"Very well." she said.

"Dagger." I drew out with a stern voice.

She looked at me, confused as to why I would talk to her the way I did, but she got the message after she saw the encouraging smirk on my face.

"Alrighty." she corrected with a goofy smile and a giggle. She pulled out the chair next to me and sat down.

"So what have you been doing since this morning?" I asked. A good conversation would help Dagger learn a casual dialect faster.

"Well, I explored the village and tried to work on my speech." she explained.

"Good, good." I said with a nod.

"The farm they have here is far too small."

"Yeah."

"It looks like it used to be bigger than what it is now."

"You think so too, huh?"

Ever since we got out of Evil Forest, Dagger became a lot more talkative. She always seemed so shy at this point in the game. Now, she opened up whenever she got the chance.

"I think something is going on in this village." she whispered so that the girl behind the counter couldn't hear. I just nodded.

We went back to sitting in silence. The pancakes just continued to get cooked. They looked big and fluffy, just how I liked them.

"Umm…Trevor?" Dagger said.

"Yeah?"

"How many pancakes did you order?"

"Eighteen. Why?"

Dagger stared at me with an odd look of confusion. What's so confusing about eating enough pancakes to choke a whale?

It was another few minutes before the rest of the pancakes were finished. When they arrived, I couldn't see over the top of them. I offered Dagger a few if she wanted them, and she took the top two. It took a good amount of syrup to cover the pancakes, but there was more than enough available. I cut up the pancakes into pieces and quickly ate each one.

Dagger, on the other hand, cut her pancakes into about fifty pieces. The way she held her utensils and ate were blatantly upper class. She held her silverware at the ends and took small, dignified bites. The girl running the pub walked behind a corner behind the counter carrying some pans with her, most likely to a sink so she could wash them. With her gone, I could talk with Dagger easier.

"Dagger, you're holding your silverware wrong." I said in a low voice.

"What? What do you mean?" she asked. "I always hold silverware like this."

"Exactly."

Dagger's eyes widened as she understood her dilemma. "So, how should I hold them?"

I held my fork and knife between the two of us to demonstrate. "Grab your fork in the middle and hold it like a pencil." Dagger did as I instructed and repositioned her fork in her hand. "Now hold your knife like you were, but closer to the middle." She slid her knife down her grip until it was about where it should have been.

"There. That's right." I told her.

"It feels odd holding utensils like this." she said.

"You'll get used to it."

Dagger managed to continue eating her pancakes holding the silverware like I taught her. Unobservant as I often was, it was obvious even to me that she was trying really hard to act like a normal girl.

We finished the rest of our meal in silence. The pancakes were pretty good. If it wasn't for the fact that I would miss out on the rest of the story, I'd want to stay here and eat pancakes like these for a long, long time.

"That'll be thirty-six Gil please." the girl said later, after she came back. Dagger and I were getting ready to leave the tavern. I pulled out two coins with '20' stamped on them and one with a '5' and left them on the counter as I turned to leave.

"Keep the change." I told her. The pancakes were so good, a tip was necessary.

"Thank you." the girl said with a polite bow.

Dagger and I walked out of the tavern and into the morning sunlight. I stretched and headed down the road to the item shop. "I need to go buy some things." I told Dagger as I walked off. "I'll see you later."

"Wait." she called after me. I stopped and turned back.

"May I go with you?" she asked.

"Fine by me." I said. Dagger jogged to catch up to me and we headed down the dirt road running through town.

The item shop was a pretty small place. It was bigger than what it was in the game, but not by too much. Various items for sale were lined up along the wall. The shopkeeper was sitting behind a counter on the far end of the shop. I think her name was Eve. Dagger looked around on her own while I approached the counter.

"Good morning." Eve said cheerfully. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah. I need some supplies for a trip." I said.

"Very well. What will you need?"

I looked around the shop and took in what it had to offer. Armor was displayed on a pair of mannequins near the front of the shop. I never learned how to use armor in Sword Club, so wearing it would mess up my erratic fighting style. There were some silk shirts hanging on hangers on the wall. It wouldn't hurt to get a new shirt since my current one was starting to fray at the edges. The little item shop even had a few swords in a display case. As good as my current sword was, the iron swords here were better.

"I'll need a silk shirt." I said. "And, can I trade in my sword for a new one?"

"Sure." Eve said with a smile.

I couldn't help but smile back as I unsheathed my sword and rested it on the counter. Eve seemed like a nice person. I hoped that when everyone in the village went to hell for hurting Vivi, she would be given a break. Eve took out a key and walked over to the display case of swords. She took out the first sword from the display case and carried it to the counter.

I grabbed a black shirt from one of the hangers and carried it to the counter and set it next to the swords.

Eve looked at the merchandise on the table and tallied everything up in her head. "That'll be 895 Gil please."

I opened up the pouch of money I kept at my side and searched around in it until I found the coin with '1000' stamped on the front. I pulled it out and handed it over to Eve. She took it with a smile and handed back two coins, a '100' Gil coin and a '5' Gil coin. I dropped the coins into my coin pouch and sheathed my brand new sword. It felt heavier, but that was to be expected, considering what it was made of.

"Is that all for you miss?" I heard Eve say.

"Hey! I'm-" I stopped myself from protesting when I saw Dagger standing next to me at the counter with a white shirt of her own in her arms.

"Never mind." I said with a raised hand. I've been mistaken for a girl too many times.

"That'll be 400 Gil miss." Eve said. Dagger pulled out a money pouch out of her pocket and quickly paid for the shirt.

"Is there somewhere I can change around here?" Dagger asked.

Eve pointed to a room behind the counter. "There's a changing room back there." she said.

"Thank you." Dagger said.

She went into the back room to change.

"You don't have another changing room, do you?" I asked.

"No. Sorry." Eve said.

With a sigh, I walked to the nearest wall and leaned against it. I looked around the shop some more. There were still plenty of swords, but they were all broadswords or iron swords. They were too heavy to carry more than one. If only I could find some shorter or lighter swords…

Dagger walked out of the dressing room carrying her old shirt in her arms. She looked more or less the same as before.

"What do you think?" she asked me.

"Not bad." I said. She smiled at that and walked back to the front of the counter.

"Excuse me." I said as I slipped passed Dagger and walked into the dressing room myself. A quick change of shirts and I was out, and in half the time it took Dagger. Go me and my pointlessly competitive nature.

As I left the dressing room, I nearly stepped on a small kid standing next to Eve, whispering something in her ear. He was wearing brown and tan clothes. I recognized him as Pasty Yacha, one of the kids running around town while the adults worked underground.

Pasty Yacha looked at me suspiciously as I walked passed him. I walked beyond the counter and he began whispering to Eve again. Whatever they were talking about- Vivi I suspected- Eve was very interested.

"Well, I feel better." I said. I brushed some stray hair out of my face as I spoke.

"What do we do now?" Dagger asked.

I ran through a checklist in my head as I recalled the day's events. Vivi was by the windmill by now, Steiner should be talking to Morrid out at the mountain outside of town, and Zidane would soon start rounding everyone up. If everything went as it should, of course.

"I guess we hang out for now." I answered. Then I remembered.

"Bloody…"

"What's wrong Trevor?" Dagger asked.

"I forgot to buy some potions from the girl at the tavern." I said. "It'll be safer if we have some."

"I can still cast white magic." Dagger reminded me. She seemed angry, like I thought she was helpless, which was far from true.

"I know." I said. "But it's better to have a backup plan, just in case."

"Oh." Dagger's expression softened. "That's true."

"S'cuse me!" Pasty Yacha cried as he ran passed the two of us. He ran out the door and joined back up with his friends to play.

"Right, I'll see you later." I said as I headed for the door.

"Wait." Eve called out. I turned back and saw Eve signaling me over. I walked back to the counter and Eve leaned over it to whisper in my ear.

"Wouldn't you like to buy something nice, like chocolates for your girlfriend over there?"

I jumped back in surprise. "You think Dagger and I are a couple?" As I turned back, I saw Dagger blush a light red and look away. I turned back to Eve to explain. "We're just friends." I said.

"But wouldn't you like to be more than friends?" she asked slyly.

What, and mess up Zidane's chance to be with her? That wouldn't be cool.

"No. Not really."

Eve looked around me and glanced at Dagger, then glanced back at me. "Geez. How high are your standards?"

"High enough." I answered truthfully. "More importantly, why are you trying to push me into buying chocolate so much?"

Eve sat back in her chair before she answered. "I'm just trying to help love blossom." she said. She was probably covering for something. Maybe the chocolate she wanted to sell us was poisoned or rotting or something. Either way, I wasn't buying any.

"Yeah. I'm outta here." I turned back around and walked for the door.

"See you later Dagger." I said before I left. She just nodded, still looking at the items for sale on the wall. I exited the building and headed left for the tavern.

I walked about ten feet before I saw another familiar face.

"Hey! Zidane!"

Zidane was walking down the pathway towards the item shop. He had a pouch full of potions open at his side.

"Ah. You already got some potions?" I half asked, half stated the obvious.

"Yeah. I thought we might need them."

"Saves me a trip." I said, laughing to myself.

Zidane check the contents of the pouch. "You think ten potions is enough?" he asked.

"That should be enough." I said. "Dagger can cover the rest with her magic."

Zidane's head snapped up at the mention of her name.

"Hey, have you seen her this morning?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's in the item shop over there." I said as I pointed to the shop.

"Thanks." Zidane said as he left. He walked towards the item shop, but he stopped and turned around after walking a few feet. "I'm trying to get everyone to meet back up at the inn soon, okay?"

"Got it." I called back. He turned back and walked into the item shop. I turned around and headed for the windmill to start looking for Vivi.

**Zidane and Dagger**

Dagger continued looking at the displays on the wall. She was still blushing from when the shopkeeper mistook Trevor for her boyfriend.

_How could he be my boyfriend?_ Dagger thought to herself. _He's more like an older brother to me._

She gazed back and forth looking at the clothes hanging on the wall. It wasn't until a few moments later that she finally noticed the figure standing next to her.

"Zidane!?" she cried out in shock.

"You got a fever or something?" Zidane asked. "Your face is all red."

**Trevor**

I stood in the same spot Vivi was standing when he was kidnapped in the game. The bastards must've gotten him already. I couldn't guess when he was abducted, exactly where he was right now, or even if he was already stuffed in a box, ready to be shipped to the castle.

The wind blew my hair to the side. It felt like the whole thing had a climactic showdown feeling to it. I slowly walked into the windmill.

Inside, it looked like a regular old flour mill. Gears and presses ground wheat into power, which collected in a small pile in the center of the tower. I looked around on the ground for the hatch to the underground factory. Just like in the game, it was right next to my feet. I bent down and twisted off the top. A cool breeze brushed across my face as I lifted the lid.

"Hang on buddy. I'm coming."

I jumped down through the hatch and fell to the floor ten feet below. The landing was a little rough, but it wasn't anything I couldn't brush off.

I stood and let my eyes get adjusted to the dark. I had to be really careful not to mess up the storyline too badly. I'd rescue Vivi, then lead him down the corridor to the production facility. We'd escape, tell the others about what we saw, then everything should stay on track. We'd all know about the Black Mages. That's the important thing. I didn't want to do it, but this was one of the most crucial parts of the game.

I started down the walkway, but didn't get very far. A powerful blow to the back of my head knocked me to the ground. I landed pretty hard and felt another blow hit the base of my skull. My last thoughts before I passed out ran through my head.

_Too careless._

Then everything went dark.

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No, you don't know what's going on. You'll have to wait for that. Although, reviews will help it go faster.


	9. A New Face

Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story. I only own Trevor and…well, you'll find out.

Author's note- Wow! I got a lot more reviews for my last chapter. Thanks guys. You're all awesome! Head's up though. This is where everything starts getting weird.

Chapter 9: A New Face.

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My eyes cracked open and I saw my feet dragging across the dirt on the floor in front of me. I was tired and the back of my head was killing me.

_What's going on?_

I struggled to stay awake, but it was to no avail.

I passed out again.

----------------

I opened my eyes again. I was sitting in a cold, dark room. I tried to stand, but I lost my balance and fell over. I tried to steady myself with my arms, but they were tied around a thin pole behind me. I looked around and tried to get a bearing for where I was.

There were rocks everywhere. I was in a cave or something. Fog rolled along the ground and stopped at a machine. It looked like a big egg with gauges and vents everywhere. That's when everything came back to me.

I was trying to rescue Vivi, but I was attacked and dragged somewhere. Most likely, I was still in the underground facility. If that was true, then I was probably in the storage room near the back of the facility. The one branching off from where Vivi was stuffed in a box. Then that meant that the fog was mist, and fed into the machine, which was creating Black Mages. Great place to be.

_Who would do this?_ I wondered. _The innkeeper? Maybe. He might have warned the others. Dammit! I should've kept my mouth shut. But what about Eve? She was pretty insistent that I buy those chocolates. Maybe she's angry that I didn't_. I paused as I questioned the rationality of my last thought._ That's just dumb. It was probably a worker down here at the factory who caught me looking around. Yeah, that makes sense._

If I was lucky, Zidane and the others would notice something was wrong and would open the doors and get me out of here.

Luck was never with me.

I heard footsteps behind me. They were quiet, but they echoed in the small room.

"Are you sure he'd work?" came a voice from somewhere in the cave. It sounded like an old man off his medication.

"Who's there?" I asked. I tried to push myself around the pole to get a better look, but a boot crashed down on my hands and held me in place.

"He will work." came the voice of the man standing on my hands. He sounded younger and deeper than the first voice, but he still sounded elderly. He seemed more patient too. Perhaps he was the one in charge. "He's just suppressing most of it."

"What's going on?" I demanded. The boot standing on my hands stepped of, allowing me some freedom. It came down on them a second later, cracking several of my knuckles in the process.

It hurt.

A lot.

"AAAAHHHHHH!!!!" I cried out. I took a few breaths to push away the pain.

"What the hell?" I yelled over my shoulder. I tried to stand again, but was forced down when a set of hands pushed down on my shoulders.

"That isn't enough." the first voice said. It was coming from right behind me. He was probably the one holding me down.

"What are you bastards doing?" I yelled behind me.

"We aren't capable of angering him to his peak." said the second voice. "If we inject him, he'll become a raging beast."

"If you're wrong about this, we'll lose any chance we have at survival." the first voice said. "We only have one sample."

"He will work." the second voice repeated.

"Get off of me!" I yelled. One of my captors grabbed my hair and pulled it down, hard.

"Listen boy, we need you to get angrier."

"Only your rage is useful to us."

_My rage? What?_

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Get the hell off me!"

My hair was pulled to the side, exposing the back of my neck.

"GET THE HELL OFF!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Something was pushed against the back of my neck. It felt like a plastic circle.

"Welcome to your new home Kaiten."

A second later, something that felt like a needle pierced the skin and pushed its way into my spine.

My vision faded from the pain.

The next thing I was aware of was this odd ringing. It was high pitched and sounded like an alarm that would be used to signal an attack on a military base. But as my senses returned, I realized that the sound wasn't an alarm.

It was my screaming.

That's the last thing I remembered before I passed out.

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I woke up in a bed. I looked around and saw that I was back in my dorm room.

Everything was in place. My desk was sitting in the corner. My shirts were hung in my closet. My roommate was sleeping on his bed sideways. Yeah, that's normal.

I stared at my hands in wonder. _Did all of that really happen?_

I pulled my sheets off of myself and looked at my clock. It read 8:35. My calendar said that it was Monday. I had class in an hour and a half.

_Maybe it _was_ real. Maybe this is a dream._

It pinched a bit of skin on my arm between my fingers and twisted it.

Unfortunately, it hurt. I was awake. I was in reality.

"Dammit!" I said a little too loud.

"Wuz wrong?" my roommate, Matt, slurred. He always acted like a zombie in the morning. I had to think of an excuse, fast.

"Bad dream." I told him. It was close enough to the truth, although waking up was the worst part.

"But if you do that, the ice cream will melt." Matt said again.

I turned around and looked at Matt, still laying sideways on his bed. He was still asleep.

It would never cease to amaze me how clearly he spoke in his sleep.

I grabbed a hair tie off of my desk and pulled my hair back in a pony tail. I walked into the bathroom, turning on the faucet as I entered. Icy water ran into the sink and swirled down the drain. I splashed a handful of water on my face. The shock would help me wake up.

_So it was all a dream huh?_ I looked at my hands as the water in the sink ran over them. Maybe it was real, but I had been transported back. Who knows? Either way, it meant that I couldn't help the others anymore.

_Dammit! I wanted to help! I wanted to be a hero like them!_

I took another handful of water and splashed my face again. I grabbed a small towel off the drying rack and wiped away the water. I looked at myself in the mirror to make sure I looked okay. I ran the towel down my cheek…

…A part of my skin tore away.

There wasn't any muscle or sinew or blood. There was just more skin. I ran the towel down my other cheek and more of my skin fell away. As I dried more of my face more of a new face formed. In one quick motion, I ran the towel over my entire face. I saw all of my old skin resting in the towel, like it was part of a mask. When I looked in the mirror, I saw someone else. He kind of looked like me, but he had narrower eyes and hair that only reached his cheeks. The face in the mirror smiled at me.

"Hi."

----------------

_Trevor!_

_Is…is he okay?_

_He's fine. He's just unconscious. C'mon! Wake up!_

_Maybe I can heal him._

_But he doesn't have any wounds. He should just be able to wake up._

_What's wrong with his eyes? They're all white._

_Wait! He's waking up!_

----------------

The world was way too bright. My eyes fastened themselves shut as soon as they were opened.

"Are you okay?"

"Zidane?" I asked the voice. My head was still throbbing from when I got hit after I entered the factory.

"Yeah. We're all here." Zidane reassured me.

"What's going on?" I asked. My eyes slowly adjusted to the room.

"Hold on." Zidane said. I heard him unsheathe a dagger. He grabbed my hands and cut off the rope binding them together. My arms slid to a more comfortable position and I removed the rest of the rope from my wrists.

"Vivi said he heard you screaming from in here." Dagger explained.

I looked over at the doorway and saw Vivi nervously clutching his staff. He must have been afraid while he was trapped in that box.

"And here I came to rescue you." I joked with Vivi. "Thanks Vivi. I owe you."

"It's alright." Vivi said. He was obviously nervous. _What did they do to him?_ I wondered.

"You should have asked us to help you." Dagger scolded.

"Heh. Sorry." I said. I really was sorry, but I got caught up in being the hero. I was going to have to watch that from now on.

"Vivi was captured by the villagers here." Zidane said. "They put him in a box to be shipped to the castle."

"Which castle?" I asked. I still had to play dumb for the sake of not giving away my origins.

"Alexandria." came the answer a second later. Dagger shuffled uncomfortably as she spoke.

"So we rushed in and rescued him." Zidane interjected. He offered a hand to help me to my feet. I took it and carefully found my balance on the uneven footing. I checked to make sure those old men didn't take anything from me. My sword was still strapped to my belt, my pouch of money was still hanging from my hip, and it didn't feel like they cut any of my hair. It seemed that all they did was inject me with that needle and give me a short nightmare.

"But what happened to you?" Zidane asked. "What were you screaming about?"

I didn't know what to say. Was it better to lie and tell them everything was alright, or was it better to tell them what happened, but add to their problems in the process. Vivi was going to have enough trouble accepting what was down the hallway.

Yeah, I could deal with my own problems. I had to help the others now.

"The guys that jumped me were trying to interrogate me." I lied. "They kept asking about why 'it' was moving."

"What was 'it'?" Zidane asked.

"That's what I asked. They were talking about Vivi."

"Me?" the Black Mage asked sheepishly. I nodded in response.

"When I didn't tell them anything, they started bending my fingers backwards. All the way back to my wrists."

"Are you okay?" Dagger asked.

"I'm just sore now. I'll be fine in a while."

Dagger held her staff out in front of herself. Light gathered at the tip and flew to my hands. The light ran across my fingers and soaked into the joints.

"Are you feeling better?" Dagger asked, still having trouble with her casual dialect.

"Yeah, much." I told her. My hands didn't hurt that much in the first place, but they hurt a little when that boot slammed down on them. I flexed my fingers, making sure they were okay.

"I need to ask you a favor, you guys." Zidane said. My hand rested on the hilt of my sword as we turned back to him. "I want to check out what's ahead. I know you might not be thrilled with the idea, but…"

"…Zidane, I wanna know more, too." Vivi said. He pointed to the mist engine powering away in the corner. "Look… What is that thing?"

"Yeah, I wanna know what's going on too." I added.

"I want to know what this has to do with the castle." Dagger said.

Zidane nodded as he got our approval. "Alright, we'll all go together!"

We walked out of the room to investigate the tainted factory underneath the village.

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Sorry the chapter was so short (only half the size of my last two chapters), but I wanted to end it there for the sake of dramatic timing. But look at how fast I updated! More reviews means faster updates. You know what to do.


	10. Boss Fight! Black Waltz 2

Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story. I also don't own Berserk. I just thought I should add that for safety since there's a reference.

Author's note- Sorry this took so long to write. I've had writer's block and Rashnefein, my beta reader, has been weighed down with exams. We'll try to get these chapters to you faster in the future.

Chapter 10: Boss Fight! Black Waltz 2.

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Eggs emerged from the round machine. They looked like Frankenstein eggs, made from multiple sheets of what looked like fabric shells, stitched together from thick, ugly string. They moved down the conveyor belt leading deeper into the underground factory.

Zidane, Dagger, Vivi and I just walked alongside the eggs as they rode down the conveyor belt.

"Anyone else feel something really ominous?" I asked. It was already obvious to me what was going to happen, but the tension in the air was palpable. Everyone silently nodded in response.

The eggs continued down the conveyor belt and disappeared into the next room. We walked down the hallway and passed into a tunnel running alongside the eggs' path.

"Hold on." Zidane called out. He stopped and stared at a section of the wall in the tunnel. I turned back and saw him staring through a window looking in at the eggs on the other side of the wall.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I can almost see inside…but I can't see anything." Zidane answered. He wiped away some of the dirt on the window. "I just hear some noise."

"Like what?" Dagger asked.

"Cracking." Zidane said. He squinted as he looked through the dirty window. "Are the eggs…hatching?"

Zidane stepped back from the window and gestured to keep walking down the hallway. Dagger, Vivi and I glanced at each other for a moment, then turned around and continued our exploration. The tunnel spanned for another few feet. It exited into a big room. Boxes the size of coffins filled the room. The line from the conveyor belt continued to a small dome on the farther side of the room. High on the left side of the room…

"Ahhh! What is this!?"

…Black Mages, all about twice the size of Vivi, were carried on meat hooks to the dome across the room, where they were shoved into the coffin-sized boxes. The Black Mages rode on motionlessly, down the assembly line.

"They're…" Zidane started. He looked from one Black Mage to the next. "Some parts are different, but…" He glanced from the Black Mages, to a shivering Vivi.

"Wh-What is this…?" Vivi managed to say. "Are they…dolls?"

The noise coming from the machines and vents in the room prevented me from hearing anyone coming up from behind us. It didn't stop Zidane though.

"Guys! Someone's coming!" he said. I turned and looked for whoever Zidane saw. Maybe it was the guys who jumped me. Sure, in the game it was just a factory worker, but in the game, no one was abducted by a pair of old men, tied to a post, and had a needle driven into their spines.

I pressed myself against a nearby wall and peeked around the corner leading to the previous room really fast. I saw a man wearing mostly blue and white walking towards me. Damn, just a worker. I turned back and saw that Zidane and the others were nowhere in sight.

I was all alone.

"Thanks for waiting guys." I muttered to no one in particular. I heard the worker's footsteps behind me and remembered my predicament. Without any better options, I dashed to the side and leapt behind a set of boxes just as the worker came into view.

"Hey! Did you say something?" he asked another person working deeper in the room.

"Nope. Not me." came the response.

I could see everything from my hiding place. The first worker looked around suspiciously, looking for whatever made whatever noise he heard. He shook his head after he found nothing, then turned his attention back to the other worker.

"Okay. Never mind." he said. "It's almost time. Hurry it up, will ya?"

"I hear ya!" the worker from deeper in the factory called back. The first worker walked back, leaving the room and giving me a chance to sneak out to get Zidane and the others out of their hiding spot before they were captured. I quietly walked

There was a few seconds pause as nothing happened, but then, those coffin sized boxes were picked up, one by one, by a crane in the room. They were raised over the domed room where Zidane. Dagger and Vivi were hiding. The first box fell, imprisoning one of the Black Mages ready for storage.

Or it was supposed to.

There was an audible gasp as one of the boxes fell. I heard Dagger call out Zidane's name as the box that fell moved along a conveyor belt to the storage barrel. There was another gasp as Vivi was trapped in a box of his own. Dagger let out a minute scream as a third box fell. All three boxes containing my friends rode along the conveyor belt and into the barrel waiting to take them to Alexandria Castle. The top of the barrel was nailed shut and the workers pulled the barrel onto its side so it could roll easier. The barrel was hooked it up to a wagon like thing, pulled by a chocobo, and was led out of the underground factory.

I knew that if I didn't act fast, they were going to be loaded onto the cargo ship and sent away into unspeakable danger at the castle.

Namely, Kuja.

If he got his hands on Dagger, he could extract the eidolons from her much earlier than he was supposed to. If that happened, there wouldn't be anyone who could oppose him. Zidane and Vivi would be in jail, and without Zidane the rest of the party couldn't be formed, and Kuja would end up destroying all of existence when he shattered the Crystal.

_What the hell am I doing?_ I thought. _I have to help them!_

I jumped out form behind the boxes and climbed to the top of a tall crate to get a better view of the room. Looking out over everything, I saw that it was mostly empty. It was odd, because I always thought there would be at least a dozen people working down here. But, the fewer the people, the less the trouble I had to deal with.

I took a moment to analyze my situation. There were only two workers in the room with me, and they were busy relaxing. The barrel holding Zidane, Dagger and Vivi was now outside, getting ready to be loaded onto the cargo ship. Steiner could be anywhere at this point, so relying on him was foolish. My best bet was to run out and fend off anyone near the barrel, then work on getting the others out.

I carefully climbed down from the crate I was standing on and crept around the domed room. The workers who were resting were sitting in the middle of the room, talking. Since I was pressed against the wall, there was no way they would have seen me. I made my way out of the room. I was far more attentive than I was when I first entered the underground factory. There was no way someone was going to jump me this time. But, as always, fate had a way of messing with me.

I was just at the mouth of the opening to the landing pad, when a worker came running right into me. He knocked me back a foot, then pressed himself against the wall out of fear.

I unsheathed my sword and pressed it against the worker's throat, while grabbing onto the collar of his shirt. I had no intention of killing him, but if I didn't scare the hell out of him, he might tell some of the other people about me, and I already had enough problems at the moment.

"W-w-who are you?" the worker managed to say. I responded with the first thing that came to mind.

"I am the Hand of God, hovering above! Boogity, boogity, boo!" I yelled in a gravely voice right in his face. The line came from the outtakes of the Berserk anime a friend of mine showed me once. It was absurd, but the worker was so frightened that it didn't matter what I said. I let go of his shirt and he took of running into the factory. I took the chance I was given and ducked outside.

Outside, I saw what had frightened the factory worker so much. The barrel that held my comrades captive was sitting straight up and a heavily armored knight was busy inspecting it.

Steiner.

"This barrel…" he said as he examined the barrel. "What could be inside!? What could they possibly be shipping out from this village?" Steiner jumped back when the barrel rocked back and forth for a moment. "What the-"

I sighed in relief. _Good._ I thought with a smile. _They're still safe._

"Did I just see that barrel move?" Steiner said with a raised eyebrow. "Let's see…"

My smile vanished as I saw Steiner unsheathe his sword from his back. I dashed out of the underground hatch and ran as fast as I could to stop him, pulling my sword out of its sheath as I ran. Steiner lined up his attack on the barrel, ready to strike.

"Wait! Stop!" I yelled at the knight with the horrible idea.

"Huh?" Steiner said as he looked over at me. And thrust his sword at the barrel.

It was only by the slimmest chance that I caught his sword with my own before it hit the barrel. I stopped for a moment while I caught my breath.

"Are you insane?" I yelled at the rusty knight.

"What?" Steiner asked dumbly. "What are you talking about?"

"The others are in the barrel you idiot!" I yelled. It probably wasn't right to yell at him since there was no way he could have known about it. But dammit! He nearly skewered my friends!

"Th-the princess!?" Steiner said.

"Alright, give it another push!" came a voice from the barrel. I looked over my shoulder and saw it wobbled towards me.

"Aaargh! The barrel spoke!" Steiner blurted out. He stepped back as the barrel tipped forward…

Right towards me.

"Why me?" I muttered.

The guys in the barrel gave another hard push and the barrel tipped forward. I jumped out of the way as fast as I could and just barely avoided being crushed underneath it. Despite how fast I managed to move, the barrel clipped my leg as I dove. I gave a short cry of pain as I was sent tumbling painfully across the ground from the hit.

The barrel rested on its side, completely still. Steiner, out of his concern for the princess, ripped the top off of the barrel and pulled out one of the boxes.

"Princess?" Steiner asked as he tore the box open. Inside was a relieved looking Zidane.

"Thanks Rusty." he said.

Steiner threw Zidane, still in his box, aside as he pulled out another box.

"Princess?" he asked again. He tore open another box to reveal everyone's favorite Black Mage.

"Um…no." Vivi said in his usual quiet tone.

"I'm glad to see that you are safe Master Vivi." Steiner said respectfully. He helped Vivi out of his box, the pushed the box out of the way to make room for the next one.

"No, that's okay." Zidane said angrily. "I'm fine."

"What about me?" I called out. "I could've been killed!"

"Sorry Trevor, but we couldn't really see where we were pushing." Zidane explained with crossed arms.

"Meh. Don't worry about it." I told him.

I walked around to get a better view of what was going on with the barrel. There were two more boxes left in the barrel. Steiner pulled one of them out and tore its top off.

Inside was a human skeleton.

"NOOOO!!!! PRINCESS!!!!" Steiner cried out in horror. He gently cradled the skull. "What have they done to you!?" he cried.

"Steiner?" came a feminine voice from the barrel. "I'm in here."

Steiner glanced to the barrel suddenly, then threw the skull and the box with the skeleton to the side.

"Way to respect the dead Steiner." I chastised. He didn't hear me and pulled out the last box from the barrel.

"It's just a prop." Zidane said. I looked back and saw him crouched next to the box with the skeleton. He reached in and, holding only the skeleton's left hand, pulled out the entire arm.

"Real skeletons aren't connected with wire." he explained.

"Why would they put something like that in a barrel to be sent to the castle?" I wondered out loud.

"Princess!" exclaimed an overjoyed sounding Steiner. Dagger sat up in her box and brushed her hair behind her head.

"Thank you Steiner." she said as she stepped out of the box.

"Princess, what in the world is going on!?" Steiner yelled in his usual yelling tone. The same yelling tone that should've ruptured his vocal cords by now. He turned to Zidane and shook his hand at him in rage. "You scoundrel! Is this your doing!?"

"Steiner, please!" Dagger demanded. Steiner stopped shaking his hand and put it down on its side.

"Yes, Your Highness…" he said obediently.

Dagger turned to Zidane and spoke. "Zidane, I don't know what to say to Vivi. I never knew anything suspicious was going on at the castle…"

"We still don't know for sure." Zidane told her. "Let's stay by Vivi's side."

"You hear that Vivi?" I said, clasping the Black Mage's shoulder. "You're stuck with us." I gave him the biggest smile I could manage.

"Th-thanks." Vivi said nervously. He continued to look straight at the ground, but I knew that deep down inside, he was happy to have us with him.

"Yo, Rusty," Zidane called out. "Do you know where this airship's going?"

"…L-Lindblum." Steiner said after a moment. "Yes, to Lindblum." There was clearly some level of a lie in his voice. The way Steiner was trying to avoid eye contact with everyone was another sign he was telling a lie.

"That's convenient!" Zidane said. "Did you ask someone?"

"Th-The old man in the shack told me!" he responded nervously. "So it must be true!"

"You're acting strange…"

Something caught the corner of my eye. There was a black dot in the distance rushing towards us in the distance at an incredible speed. There was a pang of dread in the back of my mind as I knew what was headed for us. I looked back and saw Steiner looking at it too.

"Something is headed this way!" the rusty knight pointed out before I had the chance to.

As soon as Steiner told the others about what he saw, the black dot in the distance disappeared and reappeared behind us. It flew around us, too fast to be seen, showing off it's speed. It was just trying to make us afraid by demonstrating its power. I knew psychological warfare when I saw it.

Enter: the Second Black Waltz.

He looked like a scarecrow who was given a fancy blue robe someone would find better use for at a formal dance. His wings spread out passed his arms as he landed in front of us.

"Princess Garnet," he said. "The queen is waiting for you at the castle!"

"You were all sent by the castle!?" Zidane shouted in a brilliant display of self control.

Steiner's expression changed to one of anger mixed with, well, more anger. "What? What are you talking about!?"

"Zidane and I fought something like this once." I explained. They knew this much already. I might as well tell them some more.

"You were all unconscious from the blizzard." Zidane said. "He said he was a Black Waltz!"

"Are you the one who defeated No. 1?" the scarecrow of a mage asked. "I am Black Waltz No. 2! My power, magic, and speed make me far superior to No. 1! Resistance is futile! Come, Princess. The queen awaits!"

Dagger stood her ground and adamantly refused. "No! I will not return to the castle."

The Black Waltz narrowed his eyes and gazed furiously right at Dagger. "Come with me, or you'll regret it!"

"Wait!" Steiner interrupted. "I, Steiner, shall escort the princess back to the castle!"

"Kee hee hee!" The Black Waltz threw his head back as he cackled. "You think I care? I won't let you stand in the way of my mission!"

In an instant, the Black Waltz disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" Zidane asked.

"Here!"

The Black Waltz reappeared in front of Zidane and slammed into his chest. Our group's thief was sent backwards, landing on his back and sliding for a few feet. He rolled over his shoulder at the last second and jumped back to his feet. I looked back and saw the robed mage laughing maniacally.

"BURN!!!" he cried out. He flung his arms out at his sides, each one pointed at Steiner and myself. The air heated up and huge fireballs exploded in our faces. Needless to say, it hurt a lot. I sprawled on my back, gripping the mild burn marks on my face. I could hear Steiner grunting in pain too. It seemed he wasn't quite as tough as he always seemed.

"Cure!"

A glowing, soft blue light covered the area. Within moments, my face stopped hurting, and I was able to sit up again.

Dagger was standing next to Zidane, clutching her staff and looking rather adamantly over the battlefield.

"Now, now Princess." the Black Waltz taunted. "You mustn't interfere."

The Black Waltz pressed his hands together and a dark blue ball of energy emitted from them. Since it didn't look like any of the elemental spells I knew he could use, I assumed it was his Hypnosis spell. If he hit Dagger with it, all he'd have to do is grab the Princess and run. Considering his speed, that wouldn't be very hard.

I pulled my sword out of its sheath and ran, screaming, at the entity of evil.

Unfortunately, my day had been pretty bad thus far and wasn't about to get any better.

As I neared the Black Waltz, he just disappeared. My eyes widened in shock, until I felt something's elbow ram itself into the back of my head. I fell to the ground in pain.

"You're really persistent, aren't you?" the Black Waltz said.

I pushed myself off of the ground onto my back and saw the Black Waltz standing over me. From the shape his eyes took, he was obviously grinning.

"You die now." he said simply. Light blue strands of energy surrounded his hands as he powered up another spell, no doubt aiming for my head. I shut my eyes as I waited for the pain of whatever he was going to hit me with, but it never came.

I opened my eyes a little and saw that he disappeared. All that was left was a very angry and confused Steiner, with his sword drawn. He must have stopped the Black Waltz from attacking me.

"Where-" he started.

"Give it up!" the Black Waltz yelled as he reappeared over Steiner. He threw all of his weight onto Steiner, and the rusty knight was knocked to the ground next to me. The Black Waltz followed up his attack by punching me square in the stomach, knocking all of the air out of me.

He was too fast. There was no way we could beat him.

The Black Waltz slammed his fists together again and powered up another spell. "You can't win!" he said. "This time, you'll die!" He cackled maniacally as the spell in his hands finished powering up. He aimed at us, but was cut off as a fireball exploded behind the him, engulfing his wings. He let go of his spell and tried to reach behind himself to put out the fires now raging on his back.

I twisted my neck around to see Vivi standing next to Zidane and Dagger. His staff was aimed right at the Black Waltz. I was going to have to buy Vivi a whole box full of cookies for that save.

The Black Waltz powered up a Blizzard spell and unleashed it on his burning wings. Ice crystals formed behind him and slowly covered the flames. In a matter of seconds, the fires died down, but it was too late for the Black Waltz to save his wings. They had been burned down to the bone.

"You son of a bitch!" the Black Waltz called out. He gave Vivi a look of pure hatred. "You'll pay for that!"

The Black Waltz stooped into a crouch and ran at Vivi. He powered up a spell in his hands while screaming in anger. What was interesting was that he didn't teleport like he had been. Then it hit me. Without his wings, he was just as slow as any of us.

The Black Waltz threw his arms in front of himself as the spell in his hands neared completion. Vivi stood frozen, having been overcome by the events in the factory and the current fight. In other words, he was helpless as the Black Waltz attacked him.

"Look out!" Dagger cried. She leapt out in front of him as the Black Waltz cast the spell. She and Vivi closed their eyes as the air stared to chill around them.

The Black Waltz skidded to a halt and pulled his arms into the air, aiming away from the princess. Small chunks of ice formed in midair where the Black Waltz's arms pointed. Apparently, the amount of time the caster spent aiming at his target had something to do with the strength and quality of the attack.

"Get out of the way!" the Black Waltz demanded.

"No." Dagger said as she stood with her arms stretched out at her sides, protecting Vivi.

"Princess, please stay back." Steiner begged. I'm sure that he didn't want to agree with the Black Waltz and was more concerned for her safety.

"Please Princess, let me handle this." Steiner continued.

"You worry about fighting Number Two here." Zidane said. "I'll keep Dagger safe."

"Be quiet!" Steiner demanded.

"You will all die!" the Black Waltz yelled over the din of Zidane and Steiner.

I just laughed as I stood up. By now, the Black Waltz was surrounded in an odd circle, with Steiner and myself on one side, Zidane standing a few feet from the princess, and Dagger and Vivi completing the circle across from Steiner. Everyone turned to look at me as I laughed.

"No need to fight guys." I said with an odd smile. "We can beat this thing now." I couldn't understand why I was enjoying this so much. Maybe it was pride from figuring out the Black Waltz's weaknesses, or maybe it was from the massive adrenaline rush I was having. I was always giddy when I had one of those. I got a threatening look from the Black Waltz and inquisitive looks from everyone else.

"How?" Zidane asked.

I ran a hand over my face and peered between my fingers before I answered. _I shouldn't be having this much fun._

"We know two things about him now." I explained as I held up two fingers. I put one finger down as I continued my explanation. "One: he's slow now, which means we can hit him."

"What's the second thing?" Dagger asked impatiently.

I held up two fingers again. "Two: he won't attack Dagger."

Everyone looked from me, to Dagger, to the Black Waltz, fuming with rage.

"I'm more than strong enough to kill you all!" the monstrous mage yelled.

He powered up another spell and aimed it right at me. I just stood in place with my sword hanging over my shoulder, basically looking really cool.

The Black Waltz screamed as his spell reached completion. I just relaxed as I saw my unspoken plan begin to work. Magic was powerful, but it took time to power up. For example, it was long enough for Zidane and Steiner to run up and attack.

The Black Waltz's eyes shot open as he realized his folly at the last second. Time seemed to slow down as the attack unfolded. Zidane's daggers went straight at the Black Waltz as Steiner's sword traveled in an arc from the ground up.

The dark mage barely had enough time to stop his attack and jump back. Zidane's dagger still cut into his side and Steiner's sword knocked him flat onto his back. With the two of them standing on either side of him, right in front of me, it was like aiming down a shooting range.

I hoisted my sword off of my shoulder and broke into a run. I held my sword in a Zorn-hut like Steiner as I rushed.

"Move!" I yelled as I neared my target. Zidane and Steiner stepped back as I held my sword up. As soon as I was close enough I swung my sword down as hard as I could.

My plan was almost perfect.

The Black Waltz raised it's feet and caught me in the stomach at the last possible moment. It knocked almost all of the wind out of me, but it wasn't enough to stop my sword. It came down and slashed into the Black Waltz's stomach revealing a thin river of red blood as the sword cleared the injury. I fell backwards and would have fallen onto my back if Zidane wasn't there to catch me.

_What do you know? Black Mages _do_ have red blood._ I had always wondered about the biology of Black Mages in comparison to humans.

"Nice plan getting him angry like that." Zidane said as he helped me back to my feet.

"Almost." I corrected. "He's still alive."

The Black Waltz slowly got to his feet, carefully holding his bleeding stomach.

"So you hit me." the Black Waltz said. "So what? I'm still strong enough to kill you."

"Don't be a fool!" Steiner said. "You don't have enough time to cast a spell."

The Black Waltz started shaking slightly. Slowly, he erupted into a series of broken laughs, which is never a good sign.

"I was holding back for the sake of showmanship," the cackling maniac said. "But now I just don't care!"

He raised his arm to the side and in a second, a small fireball was burning away in his palm. He pulled his arm back and threw the fireball right at me. I regained my balance instantly and pushed Zidane out of the way. The fireball closed in and I braced for the hit.

The fireball hit me right in the chest and exploded, knocking me to the ground. It wasn't very big and it was nothing compared to the first fireball he hit me with, but it still hurt. It was fortunate that my new shirt didn't catch on fire.

"You see?" the Black Waltz said. "I'm still more than you can handle!"

I raised my head and saw the Black Waltz powering up two fireballs, one in each hand.

"A few of these and your head will cave right in." he taunted.

He stepped back and pulled his arm to throw again. I tried to stand, but my chest burned from where I was hit. I could only move in short, labored steps. I realized too late that I wasn't going to be able to move out of the way of his attack. I shut my eyes, but saw an orange blur run in front of me just before I did.

"Dagger?"

""Get out of the way!" the Black Waltz commanded.

I opened my eyes and saw Dagger standing in front of me with her arms out, blocking the Black Waltz's only route of attack.

"Princess!" Steiner said in surprise and concern. I looked over and saw him standing at my side. "Please, get behind us."

"No! Let her stay there." Zidane said from my other side. "If she's there, then he can't attack any of us."

"Move!" the Black Waltz yelled again.

Dagger just shook her head and stood still.

"You're lucky I can't fly or I'd-" the Black Waltz was cut off as a humongous fireball exploded in his face. He fell back into a cloud of smoke.

"Good job Vivi!" Dagger called to the little mage. "Now hit him again."

"O-okay." came Vivi's response. He concentrated his power into his staff again.

"No you don't!"

A miniature fireball flew through the air and crashed into the ground at Vivi's feet. Vivi was sent through the air and landed a few feet away from where he started.

"Vivi!" Dagger called out.

Vivi got up on his hands and knees and quickly ran behind all of us on wobbly knees. Out in the open, he stood no chance. He was safest if he stood behind Dagger.

The smoke cleared and I looked at the Black Waltz in anger. Attacking me, I could understand, but hurting Vivi? That was just wrong.

"You bastard!" Zidane yelled.

The Black Waltz weakly turned to look at us. He didn't say anything. He just powered up another fireball.

"He's weakening." I pointed out.

"Yeah." Zidane agreed.

All five of us began a stare down with the silent Black Waltz. He held his fireball in his hand while the rest of us held our weapons.

"If the three of us charge him, one of us should be able to get in a mortal blow." Steiner suggested.

"You're willing to fight with us?" I asked, suspecting something was amiss. Every time we all fought, Steiner would always fight on his own, as if Zidane and I weren't even there.

"It's only to protect the Princess." Steiner justified.

"Whatever." Zidane interrupted. "On three, we go."

"Right." I said.

"Agreed." Steiner said.

"One…"

I gripped my sword tightly. If I held it tightly, I would be able to get a better running start.

"Two…"

I dug my feet into the ground so that I could launch myself better when Zidane finally said-

"THREE!"

Zidane, Steiner and I ran from behind Dagger. I fell low into my run so I could move faster. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Zidane doing the same thing. Steiner just ran noisily ahead.

The Black Waltz threw the fireball he held. It flew right towards me.

Just my luck.

I swung my sword at my feet and pole vaulted, like when I ran out on stage on the Prima Vista. I managed to miss the attack by centimeters.

I stumbled as I landed, but kept on running as soon as I regained my balance.

The Black Waltz looked on with wide eyes as Zidane was the first to reach him. The mage tried to power up another attack, but was cut short as a pair of daggers dug into his stomach and back simultaneously. Steiner came running in next and swung his sword deep into the Black Waltz's side.

Next was my assault. I held my sword in front of me and got my entire body behind my attack. As I neared my opponent, I stretched out my arms, extending my reach. The Black Waltz's eyes bulged as my sword bit deep into his chest. It pierced through to the other side, sending blood in every direction. After a moment, I raised my foot to the Black Waltz's chest and pushed against it to pull out my sword. The Black Waltz only looked pitifully as his life drained away. He collapsed to the ground in a heap.

When Zidane and I killed Black Waltz Number One, I felt some regret from taking someone's life like that.

This time, I felt nothing.

Zidane and I nodded at each other, signaling that we were okay. Steiner rushed back to Dagger's side.

"Princess!" he bellowed. "Are you okay?"

Dagger only stared at the ground in sadness and thought.

"Black Waltz Number 2…" she said. "Did my mother really send him to capture me…?"

"It can't be!" Steiner insisted. "There is no reason to trust the words of some bandit. He was just another criminal, scheming to use you for some evil deed."

"Have I not been careful enough?" Dagger asked with worry in her voice.

"Your noble upbringing cannot be disguised so easily."

"That's not true at all." Zidane said. "You haven't been watching. Dagger is trying really hard. You're the one with the problem! Walking around, yelling 'Princess!' everywhere…"

"She even changed the way she eats." I added in my usual tone. Now that the battle was done, I didn't feel the same rush of excitement.

I reached back and felt the back of my neck where that needle was stuck into my spine. I thought about what those men had said.

_They said only my rage was useful to them. If that's true, then they must've injected me with a hormone or something like that to make me angry. But I wasn't angry during the fight. I was excited, and now I feel calm, like nothing happened._

I felt my stomach rumble a little bit.

_Okay, I feel calm and hungry._

"About the border crossing…" Zidane said.

"Yes?" Dagger answered.

"Why don't we hitch a ride on this airship?"

"Sure, Lindblum should not be terribly far by airship!" Dagger paused to reconsider her words. "I mean…'won't be too far.' But why don't we get some rest before we go?"

"There's no telling when the airship will leave." Zidane explained. "The sooner we get on, the better."

"I…I suppose you're right." Dagger said, embarrassed that her idea had been shot down.

"Wait here while I ask the people inside if we can hitch a ride." Zidane said. He turned around to walk to the airship.

"I-I shall go ask them!" Steiner said, stepping in front of Zidane.

"Oh, really. How come?"

"I-It is not for your benefit." Steiner stumbled with his words. "I am only doing this for the princess!"

Before anyone had a chance to question him further, Steiner took off and boarded the ship. He stumbled as he climbed up the ladder in the back, but given how heavy his armor must've been and how nervous he clearly was, it wasn't that surprising.

"Steiner…" Dagger said as she watched him leave. "He was so adamant about going back to the castle before…" Dagger folded her arms as she thought to herself.

I looked behind me and saw Vivi busy staring at the ground. His hands were folded together. It was probably just a nervous habit of his.

"Hey Vivi." I said. "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh. I was just thinking…" he said.

"About what?"

"Well…" he rubbed his hands together nervously. "Those dolls they were making underground… Did you think they look like me?"

Ah, the time in life when one contemplate his or her existence by comparing him or herself to their surroundings. God, I hated going through that!

"Maybe a little." I told him. "But I wouldn't worry about it." I placed my hand on his shoulder and he looked up at me.

"You're you, the way you are now, and that's all there is to it." I told him.

Vivi looked at me, obviously confused.

"Do you understand?"

"Not really." he said.

I laughed a little, but kept it to myself, lest Vivi think I was laughing at him. He didn't need to think that people were making fun of him right now.

"Don't worry, you'll understand in time."

As soon as I finished talking, the propellers on the cargo ship started spinning.

"It's moving." Zidane said worriedly. "What the heck is Steiner up to?" He turned back and grabbed Dagger by the wrist. "Alright, we have to get on, Dagger."

"On a ship that's not going to Lindblum!?" she protested.

"I don't have time to explain." Zidane insisted as he pulled her towards the ladder in the back of the ship. "This way!"

"Let's go Vivi." I said to the little Black Mage.

"R-right."

Vivi and I quickly made our way to the back of the ship. Zidane nodded to us as we approached. Vivi carefully made his way up the ladder and I followed soon after, hoping Zidane and Dagger didn't take too long with their discussion about the ship's destination.

I stood on the small platform at the top of the ladder. I looked out at the surrounding fields. It was pretty cool watching the tall grass nearby was forced down from the wind made by the propellers. Vivi was holding onto his stomach nervously.

"You okay?" I asked again.

"I'm just nervous about flying." he explained.

"Don't worry too much about it." I told him. "We'll be fine."

"But-" he started to protest.

"Just think about something else." I suggested. "Concentrate on the different sounds the ship makes."

"Really?" Vivi asked hopefully.

"Yeah." I said.

There was a soft humming noise coming from above the ship.

"That whirling is the propellers." I explained.

A soft hissing noise came from inside the ship.

"That's the mist engine powering up."

"Aaah!" came a cry from the ladder, followed by "Ooo, soft!"

"What was that?" Vivi asked.

"…Zidane groping Dagger." I hesitantly explained.

It was going to be an arduous ship ride.

----------------

There! Sorry that took so long. Also, I'm experimenting with how I write my fight scenes. Please let me know if they're getting better or worse.

Bah! I'm sorry too…that I didn't make you all wait long enough to beta this! P Mayhaps the next chapter I'll put off for 2-3 weeks just for all you adoring fans! - I'm an evil Beta and damn do I love my job! I'm kidding by the by, was swamped with papers and for the loss. Hope you all enjoy this Krimson and I did our best!

Rashnefein


	11. But I Don't Want to Fight

Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Authors Note- Yeah, Chapter 11 is done! Time for a dance party! And when you're done reading this, why not check out Childhood Memories and Just Love to HATE You by Lizette Cruz? They're quite good. Well, enjoy this for now!

Chapter 11: But I Don't Want to Fight Another Black Waltz!

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"Come on, it's not like I did it on purpose."

"Please, enough."

"There's that royal tone in your voice again."

We were all standing on the platform on the back of the cargo ship, about eight or nine hundred feet in the air. Zidane was currently being scolded for "accidentally" grabbing Dagger's rear. It's not that I thought he did it on purpose, I just think he didn't really regret it too much. I was busy leaning on the railing on the edge of the platform. There was nothing but mist beneath us, so it was hard to tell just where we were. I looked to my right and saw Vivi shaking nervously.

"Are you okay, Vivi?" I asked.

He pressed himself against the door leading into the ship as he spoke. "Feels like I'm going to get sucked into the sky."

Dagger stepped forward and put a calming hand on Vivi's shoulder. "Let's go inside, Vivi." she said softly. Dagger opened the cabin door and let Vivi walk in slowly. She turned back to Zidane with a small smile.

"I trust you, Zidane." she said.

Zidane smiled back and proceeded to walk into the cabin door, but Dagger slammed the door in his face before he got there. I tried to suppress my laughter as Zidane looked at the door in confusion. He turned away and leaned up against the railing across from me.

"You know," he started. "I get the feeling she doesn't quite trust me yet… What do you think?" he asked me.

"I'm just wondering what would happen if I spat over the railing." I told him. "Think I'd hit anyone?"

"…"

"What?"

"Are you really an Alexandria University student?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I thought you were all upper class and preppy."

Continuing the lie that I was a student at a university that I didn't even know existed a month ago was starting to become a real strain.

"We can't all be stuck up, can we?"

"Hmm…" he said in thought. "I guess not."

I folded my arms against my chest and tried to relax. It wasn't easy to do, considering that the railing I was leaning against could snap at any time, sending me to a very drawn out death as I fell.

"Dagger seemed a little angry at you." I said.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't worry about it." I told him. That made sense, considering that despite this little incident, Dagger was still going to fall for him by the end of the game.

"Well, maybe she'll reward me with a kiss or two if I try hard enough."

"You wish."

Suddenly, the door to the inside of the ship burst open, revealing a distressed looking Dagger.

"Zidane! Trevor!" she called out.

"What is it?" he asked. "Something wrong?"

"It's Vivi…" she explained.

"Vivi?"

Dagger backed away from the door and let Zidane and I entered. The engines inside were enormous. They took up almost the entire pathway leading through to the front of the ship. There were windows on the left side of the ship. Walking up and down the pathway were Black Mages, just like the ones we saw being made in Dali. Vivi was busy trying to talk to them.

"U-Um…" he muttered to one of the Black Mages working on the machines.

"Wow, they're alive, and they're moving around!" Zidane pointed out.

Vivi tried talking to the next Black Mage. "U-Um…"

"Oh, Vivi…" Dagger said in a motherly tone.

"Vivi!" I called out, trying to bring the little mage back to our sides. The Black Mages working on the ship weren't really sentient, so they wouldn't respond to him, no matter what he did.

"Vivi!!!" Zidane called at last. That seemed to do it. Vivi shuffled his way towards us, never taking his eye off of the ground.

"Were you able to talk to any of them?" Zidane asked.

"No…" Vivi said, fighting back a wave of tears. "It's like…they don't even…see me at all." he sniffled. "I tried…again and again…but…they won't even turn around."

"Vivi." Zidane said, trying to comfort him. He turned around and faced me. "Trevor, can you talk to him?"

"Hmm? Why me?" I asked in confusion. I was willing to help wherever I could, but I didn't understand why Zidane asked me to do it in particular.

"You're good with therapy, right?"

I nodded in understanding. "Yeah, sure." I said.

"Good. I need to go upstairs for a little bit." he said as he turned to the ladder leading up to the top of the ship at the end of the hall. "I gotta turn the ship around before it reaches the castle."

Dagger stayed silent as Zidane looked at her assuredly. Clearly, there was no way he was going to fail her.

"Keep an eye on Vivi, okay you two?" Zidane said. Dagger and I both nodded as Zidane turned back and ran to the ladder.

I knelt down and placed my hand on Vivi's shoulder. "Vivi," I said. The shy mage looked up from the ground to see what advice I had to give. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to say. I had never been in a situation quite like Vivi's. So, I had to improvise.

"When I was in high school, most of the people around me thought I was weird and ignored me." I said.

"Really?" Vivi asked.

"Yeah." I told him. "But I was okay, because I knew that I was better than everyone who rejected me. Just like you."

"M-me?" the little mage stuttered.

"Yeah. That fireball you used to destroy the Black Waltz's wings? That was amazing!" A small color of pink settled onto Vivi's face as he blushed. "Even if these guys can use magic, I'm sure it's nowhere near as awesome as your magic."

"Thanks Trevor, but…"

"But what?"

Vivi shuffled his feet and gazed down at the ground again. "What am I?" he asked.

I just smiled. Vivi was still really innocent, so contemplating these sorts of things would be natural to him.

"Vivi," I started. "Remember what I told you before? 'You're you, the way you are now, and that's all there is to it.'"

"But…I still don't understand that." he said.

"I think Trevor's trying to say that you are your own person Vivi." Dagger offered.

"That's a good way of putting it." I said. I sat down in front of Vivi so that I could be at eye level with him. "Vivi, just remember: A person's actions are what determine his or her worth." That was one of my favorite proverbs, mainly because, as far as I knew, I made it up.

"My worth?" Vivi asked.

"Yeah, like if you were compared to money." I said. Vivi just looked on patiently. "I'd say you're worth a few million Gil."

Vivi's eyes went wide in surprise. "Really? That much?"

"Easily." I assured him.

"Then…what about Dagger?" he asked.

I looked back and saw Dagger looking back at the two of us.

"Just as much as you." I said. A small blush settled onto Dagger's face as she looked away.

"And what about Zidane?" Vivi asked. He was really getting into the little game we were playing.

"Zidane?" I sat down and put my hand to my chin in thought. "About five bucks, give or take."

Vivi smirked, then broke into a series of small laughs. Dagger followed suit and covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed. Vivi was obviously feeling a lot better.

That's when the whole world tilted.

Dagger was sent into the wall to the left, Vivi fell to the floor, and I rolled into the wall next to Dagger, upside-down. Zidane must have managed to turn the ship.

_That guy really needs driving lessons._

"Are you guys okay?" I asked as I flipped myself upright and stood up.

"I'm fine." Dagger said. She brushed her arm to get rid of any excess wood from the old ship's wall.

"I-I'm okay." Vivi said. He picked himself up and stood next to me.

"Well I guess that that was Zidane turning the ship around." I said. I looked down the hall and saw the Black Mage workers from the engine room were climbing up the ladder down the hall as we spoke.

"What are they doing?" Vivi asked as he saw them.

"Probably checking out what happened." I explained.

"We should go up and see." Dagger suggested. "Steiner might be up there."

"Right." I said. I turned to Vivi and looked down at him. "You okay Vivi?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." he said.

"Then let's go." I said.

We headed down the walkway to the ladder. I grabbed a rung as soon as I was close enough to the ladder and pulled myself up. Dagger went up after me, and Vivi was after her. I reached the top of the ladder and pushed the hatch open, revealing the top deck of the ship.

The sky was almost completely white from the clouds. I jumped out of the hatch and onto the front deck. The boards of the cargo ship were old and creaky. The ship looked like it was older than me. Looking across the ship, I saw a small room sticking out the deck. That must've been the control room. There were several Black Mages standing around the room, blocking my view from the windows into the room. I knew that room was the control room where Steiner was now yelling at Zidane.

I turned back and offered a hand to Dagger as she emerged from the hatch as well. She took my hand for stability as she finished climbing the ladder. She stepped onto the deck and took a breath of fresh air. I offered my hand down once more as Vivi came into view. He grabbed my hand with his own and I lifted him up onto the deck. It was a good thing he was so light.

With all three of us up on the deck, we turned back and started heading to the control room. Everything like it was going to be alright, but when has anything gone from bad to okay for the last few days?

As soon as we turned, I heard something land behind us. Vivi had just enough time to jump back as a lightning bolt was shot at his feet. I looked up and saw what looked like a taller version of Vivi in a dark blue trench coat standing over us. He had a wand with a crescent at the end which he used to harness his energy. His black wings spread out farther than his arms could stretch. In many ways, he looked more like a bird of prey than a Black Mage.

The Third Black Waltz. The final and most dangerous of the Black Waltzes. Built as the ultimate fighter in the Black Waltz project, he was the culmination of Black Magic in a living being. Vivi and Dagger only looked on in horror as he loomed over them.

"No!" was all Vivi could manage to say. After being kidnapped, stuffed into a box, and learning about being created in a factory like that, his mind was probably really fragile right now.

Dagger ran up to Vivi's side and held him. I stood next to them and unsheathed my sword. There was no telling what the dark mage was going to do. Better to be prepared than killed by a raging sociopath.

"So, Number 2 was defeated by a small child!" the new Black Waltz said. His voice was dark and ominous, like something you'd expect from the final boss in a video game. "You are no match against my power! Princess, stay there while I eliminate this child!"

I would have charged in and slashed at him right then and there, but I was beaten to it when four of the ship's crew members walked up slowly and surrounded the Black Waltz. He eyed them perplexedly.

"Are you protecting them?" the Black Waltz asked. "Nonsense. You are no different from mindless dolls! What can you do?"

"Let's go." I whispered to Dagger and Vivi. Dagger nodded, but Vivi was frozen in place. Without a word, I grabbed him by the waist and picked him up. Dagger and I ran into the control room where Zidane and Steiner were waiting. I put Vivi down and we all looked on through the window.

"Get out of my way!" the Black Waltz continued to shout. "Do you dare to fight a Black Waltz? I said, get out of my way!"

With the wave of his arm, the Black Waltz pulsed out a wave of electrical energy. It formed into a loop and forced its way out towards the Black Mages. Instantly, two of the Black Mages were forced over the edge of the ship, sending them to their deaths hundreds of feet below. The window of the control room shattered apart as we watched as the other two Black Mages were sent flying backwards towards us. I heard a wet snap as one of them hit the wall head first. That must've been his neck breaking. The other Black Mage crashed into the wall and slowly slid over the edge from the extra bolts of energy. With the Black Mages on deck killed, the Black Waltz focused on the Black Mages stored in the barrels on the ship's side. Bolts of raw energy flew at them, cracking them open like eggs. We all looked out of the broken window as the sleeping Black Mages fell to the layer of mist below the ship and disappeared. I hope for their sake that they didn't wake up before they hit the ground. The whole event unfolded within a matter of seconds, but it felt like it took an hour.

Vivi backed into Dagger's legs slowly out of shock. Dagger held him in her arms to comfort him. Vivi just stood in silence. He had just lost the only lead he had to finding out what he was.

We all turned to look out at the Black Waltz again. He was standing with his arms crossed and just looked at us. That's when I knew. He didn't do all that to show off. He didn't do it to intimidate us. He didn't even do it out of anger.

He did it because he could.

There was a long pause until Steiner finally spoke.

"Wh-What cruelty!" he said.

There was nothing but silence in the room until Vivi grabbed the sides of his hat and screamed louder than I thought he could. He ran from the room, heading straight for the Black Waltz. Steiner ran out of the room right after Vivi did.

"Master Vivi, I shall assist you!" he said as he ran out of the room too.

"Bastard." I said under my breath as I ran out of the room. Seeing all of that in the game was one thing. Hearing someone's neck snap right in front of you was entirely different. This bastard was even worse than the Second Black Waltz. I wasn't going to rest until my sword was jutting through his stomach.

Steiner and Vivi halted in front of the Black Waltz, who still had his arms crossed. He was eyeing us, observing our worth in combat.

"Why?" Vivi asked. "Why would you do such a thing!? Weren't they your friends!?"

"You fool." the Black Waltz sneered. "Do I look like some lowly black mage soldier?"

"Even if they weren't your allies, what you did was reprehensible!" Steiner scolded. As odd as Steiner was, he couldn't be more right.

"Kwahahaha! Worry not about them: many more are being produced even now!"

"They're not things!" I yelled. A quote I read once said that all sins start with treating others as though they were just things, rather than people. I wasn't religious, but I couldn't help but think that this bastard was sinning pretty badly right now.

Zidane came running up behind us and skidded to a halt next to me. "What are you?" he yelled.

"Ah, the princess's bodyguards have gathered! How very convenient!" The Black Waltz unfolded his arms and spread his wings as he spoke.

"Answer me!" Zidane demanded.

"It wouldn't do you any good if I answered," the Black Waltz explained. "Since you're all going to die! Kwahahaha! I will eliminate any who stand in my way!"

As much as I hated the Third Black Waltz, I was glad that he wasn't some cliché villain that told his whole plan to the heroes like in so many bad movies and TV shows I had seen. I was still going to kill him though.

I looked over to analyze Steiner and Vivi's positions. The more I knew about the battlefield, the easier I could come up with a plan. Right now Steiner was on the far left, next to Vivi, then Zidane, and I was taking up the right flank.

"Master Vivi," Steiner called out. "Please use your Fire spell on my sword."

Steiner was already coming up with a plan of attack. Good idea. I started running ideas through my head as to how to beat the psychopath before us, when I noticed Vivi was shaking pretty hard.

"Vivi," I said. "Are you alright?"

Vivi looked up at the Black Waltz and I saw thin strands of tears coming out of his eyes. He gripped his staff tightly and screamed.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

A spark of light shot out of his chest. It was followed by a second, then a third. Then there were so many that counting them was impossible. They covered Vivi's entire body in a bright shower of pure white. When they finally stopped, Vivi was glowing a bright silver.

He had Tranced.

"Master Vivi…?" Steiner managed to say.

Vivi was angrier than I had ever seen him. I had never really seen him angry before, but I had to say, he was pretty intimidating. I was really glad he was on my side.

The Black Waltz just narrowed his red eyes and readied a bolt of Thunder in his hand. There was so much energy in it that small streams of energy flowed over the edges of his hand. I backed away, as did Zidane and Steiner as Vivi prepared a Fire spell.

In a style of showdowns that only exists in cowboy movies and samurai films, Vivi and the Black Waltz stared each other down, neither one making a move. Zidane, Steiner and I didn't dare move either. Our weapons were unsheathed, but they remained at our sides, ready to spring into action like mousetraps. But the second that Vivi attacked, we would charge. I just hoped that I wouldn't have to wait long. I hate suspense like this.

My wish was granted a second later. The Black Waltz shot a bolt of lightening at Vivi, who immediately countered with a fireball. Vivi didn't heat a ball of air around the Black Waltz like he used to, he friggin' shot a fireball straight out of his staff that was as big as he was. The two spells met in midair and exploded, canceling each other out.

That was just the signal I needed. Zidane and I charged ahead at the Black Waltz while Steiner brought up the rear. I raised my sword over my head and brought it down right on top of the Black Waltz. Or rather, I would have if he didn't fly up ten feet in the air. He just stared down at us as he hovered above. Now my sword was stuck in the floorboards.

"Stay still!" I heard Zidane yell at me. Due to the chance that he had a plan, I did as he said. Half a second later, I felt Zidane jump on my back and vault himself up at the Black Waltz. He pulled his daggers back for a powerful slash, but was beaten back as the Black Waltz slapped him to the side. Zidane flew backwards against the front of the control room.

I pulled my sword out and steadied myself. As long as the Black Waltz was up that high, only Vivi could reach him. That didn't seem to stop Steiner though.

"Come down here and fight properly coward!" he called up. If I had time, I would have smacked him upside the head. Making the Black Waltz angry was not the right direction to go in.

The Black Waltz sent another bolt of energy arcing at Steiner's feet, sending him backwards. The Black Waltz turned to me and did me the same favor. The exploding floorboards at my feet ripped apart and I was thrown backwards. What made it worse was that it sent me over the railing.

"Trevor!" I heard Zidane yell.

I scrambled to catch something. My hands fumbled over the ropes and cracks on the edge of the ship, but my efforts were useless. I dropped my sword before I fell over and plummeted into the sky.

_Don't die yet._ I heard myself say. _Don't die yet._

The cargo ship already started to look smaller.

_Don't die. Don't die. Don't die._

Thoughts of my adventures thus far ran through my head. At least I got to use my sword training for something.

_DO SOMETHING!!!_

My hands ran behind me as if on their own and grabbed something. My relief couldn't be measured when I got a grip on a rope hanging over the ship. It must have been one of the ropes that was holding the barrels, before they were destroyed. My arms were nearly ripped out of their sockets as I stopped my fall, but it wasn't enough to make me let go. I caught my breath as I hung in place. After a moment, I gathered what few wits I had left and slowly climbed back up to the side of the ship.

When I reached the railing of the ship I was greeted with a gloved hand reaching over the railing. I looked up and saw Zidane's _very_ relieved face. I took his hand and he helped my over the edge of the ship.

"This is yours." he said as he handed me my sword.

"Thanks." was all I could say at the time. I looked down at the front of the ship. The Black Waltz was standing on the ship again and Steiner was being shot backwards again. At least he didn't go over the edge of the ship like I did.

"We need to attack him at the same time." Zidane said.

"Got it." I said in response. My adrenaline was still rushing at an incredible rate. It felt like my blood vessels were going to collapse due to the friction my blood was causing in them. I was surprised that I could even stand.

"Ready?" Zidane said. I just nodded.

"GO!"

Zidane flanked left and I ran right. Vivi was still standing in the center of the ship, but now he was focusing his magic. Whatever he was planning, it was going to have to be big, and he was going to have to finish it fast. As long as he was like that, he was an easy target. The Black Waltz knew it too. He stared hatefully at Vivi as he gathered up more energy into his hand.

Zidane and I continued our charge. We ran past Vivi and straight at our enemy. I swung my sword low at the Black Waltz's knees and Zidane swung at his chest right after me. But, just like before, he flew into the air and avoided our attacks. He flapped his wings and flew in front of the ship. Then, like a hawk, he came right at the two of us. He slammed into Zidane and me, knocking us flat on the floor. He flew up in the air like before and powered up another attack.

Zidane and I would have died right there if it wasn't for a fireball that was sent soaring through the air. It was twice the size of the one Vivi fired earlier, and I could guess that it was twice as powerful. Unfortunately, that didn't matter. The Black Waltz dodged it by soaring back down to the floor of the ship.

"Give up." the Black Waltz sneered. "I destroy all who oppose me."

"Now!" Vivi yelled. He turned and swung his staff behind himself. Half a second later, Steiner came running down the length of the ship, holding his sword at the side of his head like always. As he ran, the tip of his sword glowed. The Black Waltz only looked on in shock and held his expression as Steiner's sword bit through his skin, sending waves of searing pain through his body. Steiner jumped back just as an amazing explosion took place inside of the Black Waltz's body. Then I understood Vivi's plan. While he was focusing his magic earlier, he didn't use it in the fireball he sent to save Zidane and me. He put it into Steiner's sword. And considering the effect of the attack, I'd say Vivi used a lot of magic.

The Black Waltz collapsed to the floor, coughing up blood.

"You… You scum!" he sputtered. "I exist only to kill!"

With that, the Black Waltz flew off, headed to who cares where. I picked myself up and turned to see Vivi's Trance fading. In a flash of light, he returned to normal.

"Very, very, VERY nice job Vivi." I said slowly, getting the rest of the excess energy out of my system. Forget just a box of cookies. I owed Vivi a whole factory full now.

"Thanks." he said wearily. He was still depressed about the scene earlier where all the Black Mages were killed. Looking around now, I couldn't see any trace of their existence, except for a single hat that somehow got stuck on the railing. I couldn't blame him. If I was in his predicament, I'd probably be the same way.

"Just how many Black Waltzes do we have to fight!?" Steiner bellowed. "This is becoming ridiculous!"

"I think that was the last one." Zidane assured him.

"How do you know!?"

"He said 'Waltz,' right? Don't you think Number Three would be the last one?" Zidane said, like it was obvious. Quite frankly, I didn't understand it, but I knew we were safe for now, so it didn't matter.

Without waiting for an answer, Zidane turned back to the control room where Dagger was waiting. Steiner walked around the control room to the back of the ship. I turned and saw Vivi staring at the lone hat resting on the railing. I wished I could say something to help him, like I did earlier, but I worked best when I understood what someone was feeling. Right now, I didn't have any idea what Vivi was feeling. The best thing I could do now was give him space. Without a word, I turned and walked into the control room.

Inside, Zidane and Dagger were talking. Dagger was still working the controls of the ship.

"South Gate is a huge gate built exclusively for airships, but…maneuvering through it could be tricky." Zidane explained. "Do you want me to do it, Dagger?"

"I want to do it on my own." she said adamantly. I sat down and leaned against the doorframe. My arms were giving me hell for the climbing I had to do, but at least I was alive.

"Alright." Zidane said. "We don't have clearance. They might close the gate on us."

Dagger tensed a little when she heard him say that. Zidane seemed to notice it too.

"It should be okay, though." he said assuredly. "Security was totally lax when I came through here on the theater ship. It'll be fine, Captain Dagger!" He patted her shoulder to help reassure her.

"Roger!" Dagger said. She smiled back at him, almost like they were part of a couple.

"Should I leave the room?" I offered jokingly.

Zidane and Dagger just stared at me like I was insane and I stared back with half open eyes. I was always really tired after a big adrenaline rush. After the moment was completely ruined, Zidane began to look around the room a little. He examined the engine running in the back of the room.

"It's old, but the engine's got power." he observed.

In an effort to keep me from getting any rest, Steiner burst into the room, yelling in his overly loud voice.

"We must turn back!!!" he said. "Princess! Please turn the ship around! The Black Waltz is heading straight toward us on an airship! He might crash into us!"

Zidane dashed out of the room and came back a second later. "Dagger, Rusty's right! It's headed straight for us!" He ran up to Dagger's side and told her, "Punch it! Go through South Gate!"

I jumped to my feet, ready to help if I was needed.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Steiner yelled. "What if the gate closes on us!?"

"There's no way we can outmaneuver him in this cargo ship!" Zidane reasoned. "We'll slide in before the gate closes and shut him out! That's our only chance! Rusty! Turn the power up to max with that lever over there!"

Steiner didn't say anything. He just grabbed the lever Zidane pointed to and pushed it's power up to max.

"Dagger, stay on course no matter what!" Zidane said.

"Okay!" Dagger responded. She set her sights on the rounded gate before us and aimed the front of the ship right at its center.

"Trevor." I heard Zidane say. Good. I had some way to help!

"Keep an eye on those gauges!" he ordered. "Make sure the engine doesn't overheat."

"…Right." I said. Not quite the job wanted, but one I'd still do. I walked the three feet to the engine and began monitoring the gauges as I was asked.

"I know we can make it!" Zidane said. He was beginning to sound like a real leader. Good for him.

The cargo ship soared through the air at high speeds. Dagger did a good job at keeping the ship steady. We managed to stay ahead of the Black Waltz for quite some time. A feeling of elation washed over me as we neared the South Gate.

Just then, the Black Waltz sped ahead of us on a small airship about the size of a rowboat. He pulled up along side of us and powered up another of his overly powerful Thunder spells. That's when we remembered…

"Vivi!"

The hat he was looking at vanished away into the distance as the winds from the Black Waltz's ship blew it away. Vivi looked up and saw the Black Waltz aiming at him. Within the fraction of a second, Vivi raised his arms and shot the Black Waltz with a Thunder spell of his own. Somewhere along the lines, Vivi had learned to use Thunder! I would have cheered for him, but just then, Vivi collapsed as the last of his magic left him.

"No!" Zidane said as he ran out of the room to Vivi's rescue. He pushed against the winds blowing in his face as he made his way up the burned planks of the cargo ship. I looked ahead and saw the two half-circle gates ahead of us closing together. _Hurry Zidane._

He reached Vivi and grabbed the little mage by the back of his coat and pulled him back. Zidane made it about half way back before Dagger flew the ship between the gates, sending us into the tunnel between the gates of South Gate. The winds blowing between the gates were so strong that they picked Zidane and Vivi off of the ground and pushed them against the railing of the ship. Zidane was hanging on for dear life while Vivi could only hang limply in the wind.

"Zidane!" Dagger cried.

"Master Vivi!" Steiner said, letting go of the lever as he spoke. The ship started to slow down.

"Don't let go of the lever!" I shouted at Steiner. He corrected his mistake and pushed the lever forward again. "But what about Master Vivi?" he asked.

"I'll get him." I said. My job wasn't all that important anyway. What was I supposed to do if the engine overheated anyway? '_Hey guys. The engine's overheating. Anyone have any coffee? I'm still tired._'

I pushed against the wind as I forced my way to the railing next to Zidane. I reached out and grabbed Vivi by the arm and pulled him closer.

"Look!" Vivi said as he pointed to the back of the ship. I turned my head and saw the Black Waltz speeding behind us. He powered up another Thunder attack, putting enough energy into it that the excess energy spilled over his hands like before. Fortunately for us, one of the tendrils of energy hit the engine on his tiny ship and caught fire. Zidane, Vivi and I could only look on as the Black Waltz noticed his problem. He turned back to the fire roaring behind him. Without any way of putting out the fires, the Black Waltz turned back at us with a raised eyebrow in surprise and confusion, which was just as amusing to watch as it was in the game.

Another explosion ripped through his ship's engine and sent him careening into the wall of the tunnel. The explosion caused by the little ship would have workers trying to fix the South Gate for a long while.

There was another strong brush of wind as the cargo ship flew through the gates at the other end of the tunnel. Zidane and I pulled Vivi back onto the ship.

"You okay?" Zidane and I asked at the same time.

Vivi didn't say anything. He was shaking badly. I couldn't blame him. After all, he did just spend the last minute hanging off of a ship traveling through a small tunnel by the back of his coat. Finally, he nodded and walked into the control room. Steiner eased up on the lever and fell to his knees in relief. I thought he was going to cry out of sheer joy.

There was an uneasy silence as we all recovered from the fight. It was a minute until I was able to say something.

"Does anyone else have a really big headache?"

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Well, there's Chapter 11. I'm not too sure about the fight scene, since I came up with it in one afternoon and I usually spend about a week thinking up my fight scenes. Let me know how I did, point out any mistakes I missed, or just say 'Hi' with a review.

Rashnefein: Ummmm…there were mistakes a plenty last time I checked! P


	12. Welcome to Lindblum

Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story. As of now I only own Trevor. But just wait until next chapter. Hehehehe.

Chapter 12: Welcome to Lindblum.

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So the cargo ship was a complete wreck, I had seen several Black Mages get slaughtered right in front of me, I almost fell to my death from hundreds of feet in the air, and I just watched a crazed Black Waltz crash his ship into South Gate, hurting who knows how many people in the process. And this was all in the span of twenty minutes. Then there were also all the things that happened earlier in Dali.

So far, my day sucked.

Which was why I really needed a day to relax. As soon as I got a chance in Lindblum, I was gonna pass out for a good ten or twelve hours.

We were all hanging out in the control room of the cargo ship. Dagger was at the wheel, Steiner was next to her. Vivi was sitting by himself against the far wall across from me. I was sitting against the doorframe to the control room, or rather what was left of it. Zidane was busy inspecting the engines in the back of the room.

"I think we pushed it a little too hard." Zidane said after a minor inspection. He turned back to the rest of us, noting the collectively bad mood in the room. "Why so silent, people? We made it! Come on, cheer up!"

"South Gate was badly damaged." Dagger lamented. "It was my fault, wasn't it?"

"You weren't the one who was trying to kill a group of people on a small ship only to crash into a wall." I pointed out gruffly. "You're not at fault in any way Dagger."

"He's right." Zidane agreed. "So don't worry about it. They'll fix it up in no time."

"You idiot!" Steiner yelled, beginning another argument that he wouldn't win.

I untied the pouch holding my money and took the chance to count what was left. I opened the pouch, careful not to spill any of the coins. I sat down on the ground and started stacking the coins as discretely as I could so that the others wouldn't get the wrong idea and think I was hoarding money from them. Fortunately, Zidane and Steiner were fighting so much that it provided all the cover that I needed. I'd do them a favor and pay for the first night at the inn.

After a minute, I had several small stacks of golden coins laying on the ground. Coins marked with '10', '20', '50' and '100' rested in front of me. With it all added up, I had about 4,170 Gil left. That should be enough for a while. The First Black Waltz was sure given a nice paycheck.

With the synthesizer in Lindblum, I'd have a chance to get a real set of weapons. I was good with a broadsword, but it wasn't my specialty. Back in Sword Club, everyone had a specialty or two. There was Ryan the fencer, Jenny the tae-kwon-do expert, Sam the dagger fighter, Eric the big guy who knew how to throw his weight around for grappling. The list went on and on. I myself started off with katanas, but I had serious doubt that the sword crafters could make a well crafted katana. The metallurgy was just too complicated when compared to English broadswords. It was a good thing that I wasn't looking for a katana from the synthesis shop.

Oh yes. I'd fight in the Festival of the Hunt and get a lot of practice in for combat. Then Zidane and Freya wouldn't be able to say that I shouldn't go with them to Burmecia. The way I saw it, Zidane, Freya and Vivi all had good reasons for going to Burmecia later, but without really proving myself in the Festival, I didn't have as good a reason to go with them, kind of like Dagger. There was no way I was letting them go without me!

"Hey, I can see the main gate of Lindblum!" Dagger called out, interrupting my thoughts. I pulled all of my coins into my hand and silently poured them back into the pouch,.

"That's Lindblum Castle!?" Steiner said. "How gigantic!"

"The city of Lindblum is inside the castle." Dagger said.

We stood in awe of the size of the castle wall. It was the biggest thing I had ever seen. The outer wall must've been more than a mile across. The main castle inside the city walls dwarfed the buildings around it. It looked like it was easily seventy stories high, probably more. I'd seen mountains that were smaller than that.

The silence was broken when Vivi spoke up.

"Zidane." he said. "Those…black mages and I…" he paused as if to catch up with his thoughts. "Are we…the same?"

Zidane and Dagger stood in silence. I guess it was up to me to help out.

"Vivi-" I started, but was cut off by the noisy knight.

"I don't understand, Master Vivi." Steiner said. "Just what seemed to be the problem?"

"…I don't know." Vivi said finally.

"Master Vivi, why would those mages be the same as you?" Steiner continued. "And why would it matter if they were?"

I couldn't believe it. Steiner was saying something smart and helpful. I was going to have to get a CAT scan to make sure that I was hearing everything right.

"Rusty's right!" Zidane declared. "You're an individual, no matter what happens, Vivi!"

"R-Right!" Vivi said. His mood seemed to be getting better already.

"Let's go check out the deck, Vivi!" Zidane said. "You've gotta see Lindblum from above! It's the best! Look, the Falcon's Gate is right in front of us!"

Zidane ran out on the front deck. Vivi, who couldn't see over the shattered windowsill before, almost fell down when he saw the walled city in front of him.

We rode on in silence as we entered the city. I was glad we didn't need to worry about racing through an airship gate this time. The city was spread out beneath us. The buildings were all surprisingly small in comparison to the castle. I looked around, trying to identify each section of the city and to find familiar sights like the plaza in the Business District or the Tantalus hideout in the Theatre District, which is frighteningly difficult to do from 300 feet in the air. I couldn't really see anything from that high up. I just enjoyed the feeling of being bigger than everyone else in the city as Dagger piloted the ship smoothly into the city.

----------------

We landed and docked the cargo ship without any problems in the airship docks in Lindblum Castle. The room we walked out into was enormous, to say the least. It looked like it was designed more like an entrance in an exclusive opera or something along those lines. A grand red rug was spread under us as we walked off of the airship. The floor that wasn't covered by the rug was made of marble tiles. Tall marble pillars stretched up to the ceiling. Simply walking into this room improved one's social status. Goodbye suburbia, hello mansions.

"Wow!" Vivi said. "This castle is huge! It's even bigger than Alexandria Castle!"

"Yeah." Zidane added. "They don't call it Lindblum Grand Castle for nothing."

"An indoor airship dock!" Steiner marveled. "This is truly amazing! Even Her Majesty's Red Rose would easily fit in here."

Steiner gave me too big a chance for bad joke. I had to take it. "Even more amazing, I think Queen Brahne could fit in here."

"WHAT!?!" Steiner bellowed.

"Relax." I said. "It was a joke."

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE QUEEN IN SUCH A WAY!!!"

"By calling a fat queen fat?"

"I SHALL HAVE YOU ARRESTED FOR THAT!!!!!"

"Do you ever worry about rupturing something by yelling like that?"

"Knock it off you two!" Zidane said over Steiner and myself. "If we make a bad impression here, they might throw us out."

"Heh, right." I said. "Sorry."

"But he-" Steiner began.

"Steiner!" Dagger scolded. She put her hands on her hips and looked at him sternly.

"Yes ma'am." Steiner said as he gazed down at the ground.

"Dagger, you don't look too impressed." Zidane said, changing the subject. "Have you been here before?"

"Yes, I came here a few times when I was little." she said. "I haven't been here since my father passed away."

"Well, here comes the welcome committee." Zidane said suddenly. I looked down the hallway and saw three guards appear. Two of them were dressed in ridiculous white and blue outfits which made them look like chess pieces. They had blue bodies with white sleeves and white cones for hats that could put the Pope's hat to shame. The third soldier was dressed in a more traditional suit of armor which looked a little more like something you'd read about in a medieval textbook, although his armor was all red. They were all carrying spears which looked more like small headed pick-axes.

"That's a really old airship." the guard in red said. He was most likely the one in charge.

"Greetings." Dagger started of respectfully. "I am Princess Garnet Til Alexandros. I humbly request an audience with Regent Cid."

"You must be kidding!" the head guard scoffed. "No member of the royal family, let alone a princess, would ever ride in such a shabby airship. And look at the company you're keeping."

If he said anything about my hair, I'd throw him over the nearest balcony.

"How dare you accuse the princess of lying!?" Steiner yelled. "The princess was forced to come here under extreme circumstances!"

"Then show me some kind of proof of your royal heritage." the head guard demanded.

"Very well." Dagger said. She pulled out a rather large diamond she had hidden in her pocket. Judging by it's size, it cost enough to pay for the rest of my college education, with enough left over to pay for those of my kids and grandkids. The red guard stepped forward and took it out of her hand to investigate it.

"This pendant…" he observed. "Is it a Falcon Claw!?" He paused and turned it around in his hand. "No. The shape is a little different." The red guard turned to one of the guards in blue and gave him an order. "Call Minister Artania!"

The blue guard saluted and ran off into the hallway he came from. The red guard gave Dagger's jewel back to her.

Steiner took the chance to berate Zidane and pulled him back into a tighter group with the rest of us so that the guards wouldn't hear.

"If you weren't such a filthy-looking oaf, they would not be suspicious of us!" Steiner accused. "And you!" he said as he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt.

"Didn't I tell you not to grab my shirt back in Evil Forest?" I asked.

"You look like someone who would commit a murder!" Steiner continued as if I hadn't said anything.

"If you don't let go of my shirt, you may be right." I told him as I looked him straight in the eye.

"WHAT!!!?" Steiner yelled.

"Let go of my shirt." I said in a low, yet threatening voice.

"Is there a problem over here?" the red guard asked as he walked over to us.

Steiner let go of my shirt before the guards could catch him doing it.

"No sir." I answered. "But is that Minister Artania over there?" I asked as I pointed down the hallway. The guards both turned around to look. I didn't really see anything of course, but the distraction gave me a chance to smack Steiner upside the head, which I did quite enthusiastically. The sharp ping of metal rang through the room.

"What was that?" the red guard asked.

"What was what?" Zidane said, covering for me.

"Hmm…nothing." the red guard decided.

An important lesson I learned in college: People have to mature, but they don't have to grow up.

I was going to be laughing about this whole event for days to come, or minutes if Steiner was allowed to have things his way so he could kill me. I'd better stay away from him for the rest of the trip here, at least while I wasn't near some of the soldiers either in the castle or in town. Although it looked like I had really lucked out when Minister Artania walked into the room.

"What is going on?" the minister asked. Minister Artania was a tall man wearing purple and garments with graying hair. He had a full beard which grew beyond his neck. He also had a thick, furry moustache.

"Sir, we have unknown visitors who wish to see the regent." the red guard explained. "And one of them is carrying a pendant that looks like a Falcon Claw."

Artania's eyes went wide as he heard the guard say that. "You are dismissed." he said. "I'll talk care of this."

"Yes, sir!" the guards said enthusiastically. They marched out of the room together, leaving the five of us with a political leader who looked like a thinner version of Santa Clause.

As soon as the guards had left the room, Dagger leapt forward into the minister's arms. "Uncle Artania!" she cried out.

"It's good to see you, Princess." Artania said as he hugged her back. After a moment, he put her back down and directed us to the hallway behind him. "Please follow me. The regent is waiting."

The good minister led us down the hallway, which passed through a nicely decorated lobby. There was a small fountain in the corner of the room, decorated even further with a statue pouring water into a small pool. Fine rugs decorated the floor everywhere. I silently prayed that I didn't have any mud on my shoes. I didn't want to get yelled at for messing up such a nice rug like that.

We continued our way through the lobby. The hallway after it led us into the elevator. Given how nice the rooms we had been in so far were, it was really surprising how the elevator looked. It's not like it was ugly, it was just unexpected. The elevator didn't have walls, so we could see the walls of the tunnel we were traveling up, which looked like they were still under construction. Steel bars holding up the structure were clearly visible. It made the whole place seem like a construction zone of sorts.

"Lindblum Castle has three levels, all connected by this lift." Minister Artania explained. "From the base level…"

I didn't feel like listening to him. I already knew more or less what he was saying, about how the castle was constructed, but I had better things to do. Like think about the new weapons I was going to get first thing the next day. I was going to kick so much ass at the Festival of the Hunt.

"We will arrive at the Upper Level shortly." Artania said all of a sudden. I had been daydreaming about my new weapons longer than I thought.

When we got to the top floor where the Royal Conference Room was, Artania made Zidane, Vivi and myself stand off to one side.

"I must explain some things to you all first." he said.

"What is it?" Zidane asked.

"You will be in the presence of royalty, so I must inform you to be on the best of behavior." he said as if we were children. As much as I hated being treated like a kid, I decided to go with it and agree to behave.

"Right." I said.

"Sure." Vivi agreed.

"Of course." Zidane said.

"Now I must also ask that you stay here for a moment." Artania continued.

"Might I ask why?" I asked as politely as I could. I was getting tired of how pushy Artania was being. Sure, he was a good guy, but he was making a pretty bad first impression so far.

"Regent Cid and Princess Garnet have not seen each other in quite some time." Artania explained. "I think it would be best for them to have some time to catch up with each one another."

Artania turned back to Dagger and Steiner. "This way please, Your Highness." he addressed respectfully.

Without a word from Dagger or Steiner, Artania led them down the short, red carpeted hallway to the Royal Chamber.

"Upper class twit." I said as soon as Artania was out of ear range.

"What's wrong?" Zidane asked.

"I don't like him." I explained.

"Who? Artania?"

"Yeah."

"Why?" Vivi asked. "He seems like a nice guy."

"He is," I assured the others. "But he keeps treating us like kids. It just pisses me off." My mother always treated me like I was five whenever I helped her with shopping or whenever we went outside around her friends. I was really sick of the whole thing. Although, I didn't really hate her for it, considering how little she got to see me. My parents got divorced when I was still in elementary school and I went to live with my father. My mother moved to another state so she could get help for her emotional troubles, but it was a really long drive to visit her. As a result, I grew up without a mother. But enough about that…

"So when do you think we should go in?" Zidane asked.

"OGLOP!!!" came the cry from the room down the hallway.

"That's pretty good incentive." I said.

We started down the hallway towards the Royal Chamber. The guards waiting outside the door were looking inside in concern.

_That can't be good._ I said to myself.

Zidane, Vivi and I entered the Royal Chamber. Red curtains decorated every window in the room, and there were quite a few windows. A really big throne was seated at the end of the circular room, with posts aligned at the throne's corners. Dagger and Steiner were standing just passed the doorway, looking at the throne in confusion.

"Dagger, what's wrong?" Zidane asked. "Why aren't you talking to-- GEEZ! That's an oglop!" Zidane yelled as he saw the basketball sized bug sitting on the throne. However, the most unusual thing about it wasn't it's size, but the goofy moustache pasted on its face.

"Wow." Vivi said. "Even the oglops are big in Lindblum." He could be so cute when he was being naïve.

"…Giant…bug…" I muttered. I'd always had always had a problem with bugs ever since I was pushed into a cockroach tank when I was in a middle school science class. The glass broke and a dozen roaches fell onto my head. And considering how much oglops look like cockroaches, I was feeling pretty uncomfortable.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Steiner yelled. "How dare you greet the princess like this!? Get that repulsive bug off the throne immediately and call the regent!"

"Please, settle down!" Artania said. "You ARE before the regent!"

_Must step on him. _I thought to myself.

"What!?" Steiner fumed. "Enough of your nonsense!"

"Steiner, stand down." Dagger said. "I remember that moustache. Is that really you, Uncle Cid?"

"Yes. Greetings, all gwok . " the giant bug that was the leader of Lindblum said. "I am Cid Fabool, Regent of Lindblum. I knew it was you. I recognized your pendant's description; it's so much like my 'Falcon Claw.' I'm delighted to see you again, Garnet. You have truly gwok become a fine lady. I, on the other hand…"

"Allow me to explain." Artania offered to explain as the regent trailed off. "About six months ago, someone snuck into the castle and attacked the regent in his sleep. Unfortunately, we were too late… The regent had been transformed into an oglop, and his wife, Lady Hilda, was abducted."

"My goodness…" Dagger covered her mouth with her hands as she spoke.

_No. I mustn't step on him. He's the leader of a whole nation._

"Whoever pulled this off had to be highly skilled, like me." Zidane observed.

"Hmph! I bet it was you!" Steiner accused.

"That's not possible." Regent Cid corrected.

_But he's a giant bug._

"How can you be so sure? Zidane said. "Do you know who we are?"

"Of course." Cid said with confidence. "I may be a bug gwok , but I am still the ruler of Lindblum."

_Must step on him! Before he crawls around on my head._

"Uncle Cid," Dagger began. "I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice. I desperately need to speak to you about my mother."

"That's what I figured." the regent said. "But I'm sure it can wait 'til tomorrow. Why don't you all get some rest for today?"

"Thank you." Dagger said as she bowed respectfully.

_Giant bug goes squish, squish, squish!_

"It is time for lunch." Artania told the whole group. "Please follow me."

"Where are we eating?" Zidane asked.

"The royal dining hall, of course." Artania responded.

Zidane folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. "I think I'll pass." he said.

"Really?" Dagger said disheartened. "Why?"

"I can't stand rich food." he explained. "I'm gonna go into town to find something to eat." He turned back to me and asked, "Trevor you in?"

_Die evil roach! Die- wait. Something was said._

"Huh?" I said as I was broken out of my thoughts of roach-icide.

"I'm going into town for some food." Zidane said again. "Wanna come along?"

"Oh. Sure."

"Alright then." Zidane said. "We'll see you guys later."

"Bye guys!" Vivi said as Zidane and I left. Dagger just waved and Steiner crossed his arms as if he didn't care, but I knew better. I knew he wanted to kill me, so that showed that he cared. What a guy, huh?

----------------

"I can't stand the food at the castle." Zidane told me as we walked through the streets of the Industrial District. "It's way too high-class for my tastes. How can anyone get full on that stuff?"

"Stomachs the size of raisins?" I said blandly. I wasn't really paying attention to the conversation. I was busy taking in the sights of the city, getting a feel for how long it took me to walk from place to place. That way, I'd have a better feel for how to plan out my route while competing in the Festival of the Hunt. So far, I found the Industrial District to be a nice little section of the city. It wasn't very big and it was kind of dirty, smoke in the air and dirt in the streets, but it was quaint. I kind of like it.

"The cheap food here is a lot better." Zidane said as we approached a small, friendly looking pub. "Today's special is… Soup du Silence." he said, reading off of a board outside the pub. "Not bad."

"Why do they call it Soup du Silence?" I had to ask.

"Dunno." Zidane said. "But after the first time I had it, I couldn't talk for three days."

I knew Zidane was joking, otherwise I would have questioned his motives for ordering the same thing. Although, the smells coming out of the pub were so good, I don't think I would have cared if he was telling the truth. There was a mixture of beef broth and mixed vegetables wafting through the air. My favorite!

We walked inside and saw a low lit room with a bar. Somehow, it reminded me of the set from Cheers, an old and pretty dull show from the 70's my father used to watch. There were tables lined up next to the wall to the right and a bar with stools set up near the front door.

"Yo, Pops." Zidane called out. "I'll have the stupid special."

"Who said that!?" a large man in a yellow vest behind the bar said. "Zidane… I figured it was you."

"How've you been?" Zidane said with a chuckle.

"Alright, I guess… Have a seat." the bartender said. 'What'll your friend have?"

He meant me, I figured.

"Do you have some sort of beef stew?" I asked.

"One beef stew." the bartender said as he wrote the order down in a little notebook. He looked up from his notebook after he was done writing the order. "Your soup'll be ready in a minute." He turned around and walked back into another room, presumably the kitchen.

I walked over to the bar and took a seat with one seat in between myself and a familiar looking rat woman in a red cloak. She was hiding most of herself beneath her cloak and her hat which was just as red as her cloak.

"Do you mind?" came a woman's voice from the doorway. "You're standing in everyone's way."

I turned around and saw an attractive brunette holding a platter with drinks lined up on it. Apparently, she was a waitress here. And Zidane was standing in her way.

"Wow…" he said. Zidane stepped out of the way and let the girl walk passed him. He watched her for a moment, completely fixated on her, then he walked up behind her to talk. "Hey." he said, brimming with confidence.

"Yeah?" the waitress asked. "Do you want a drink?"

"How about you and me go for a cruise on an airship?" Zidane offered.

"Really!?" the waitress said excitedly. "An airship!?"

"Sounds like you've never been on one." Zidane said smoothly. "You know, Lindblum is quite a sight from high above."

"Damn he works fast." I muttered to myself.

"Hey, monkey-tail," came another woman's voice. I turned around in my stool and saw the woman in red sitting near me was talking. With her head turned, I got a better look at her face. She really did look like a humanoid rat of some sort. Her nose peaked out from behind her white hair, which flowed over the collar of her blood red cloak. Her hat had a set of what appeared to be bat wings on either side. There was a coat of arms on the front of her cloak, broken into four corners. All in all, she looked like a traffic cone. "You're disturbing the other customers."

"What the- you've got a tail, too, rat-face!" Zidane retaliated.

"Rat-face." the woman in red said. "After I finish my drink, I'm gonna kick your butt."

"Hey, Zidane," the bartender called out from the kitchen. "Take it outside."

The woman at the counter stood up from her seat. Standing at her full height, she looked like she was as tall as Steiner.

"Long time, Zidane." she said.

"Hey! What's up!?" Zidane said, followed by a sudden pause. "Wait a minute…"

"You forgot my name?" the woman said.

"No, I remember." Zidane brought his hand to his chin in thought for a moment. "You're Helga, right?"

"Wrong."

"…Christine?"

"No!"

"…Oh yeah!" Zidane said suddenly with a grin. "You used to live next door to me. How's it going…Rachel? Man, you've really gotten…big."

"You nasty little--"

Zidane cut her of with his laughter. "Come on. I'm just kiddin'. You know I never forget a pretty girl's name."

Zidane finally settled down with a smile. "So, how've you been, Freya?"

"…Same old Zidane." Freya said with a defeated laugh.

"Soup's up!" the bartender said, bringing out a pair of cups with steam coming out of the tops. I looked in the cup the bartender handed to me and saw strips of beef mixed in with carrots and peas. It smelled so good I could have melted.

"By the way, let me introduce you." Zidane said as he and Freya took their seats at the bar. Freya sat in her original seat and Zidane sat between us.

"This is my friend Trevor." Zidane said. "He's a student from Alexandria University."

"Howdy." I said as I offered my hand to Freya. She took it and gave it a friendly shake.

"Alexandria University, huh?" Freya asked. "You must be pretty prestigious then."

"Not really." I answered truthfully. "I'm just some guy who sits in the back of the room and falls asleep in lecture halls."

"Oh…" Freya said. Apparently, she thought all Alexandrian University students were stuck up and preppy too.

"So how long has it been?" Zidane asked his old time friend.

"About 3 years." Freya answered.

"Hey, did you ever find out anything about your boyfriend?"

Freya glanced down at the counter with a sad look on her face. "No…"

I wanted to say something to help Frerya, but since I just met her, it would seem weird if I started giving advice about something I wasn't supposed to even know, sort of like the innkeeper back in Dali, may he rest in hell. I just decided to keep quiet and drink my soup, which by the way, was delicious. The flavors mixed perfectly. I was going to have to get the recipe from this place.

"Oh." Zidane said. He took a sip of his soup and changed the subject. "So… What brings you to Lindblum?"

"The Festival of the Hunt. What else?" Freya said, perking up instantly. "It's a good opportunity to test my skills."

"Oh…" Zidane said. "Well, I'm sure you'll find him someday."

"Aren't you participating?" Freya asked.

"…Nah. I think I'll pass."

"Lazy bum." Freya joked with a smile.

"Is the Festival of the Hunt difficult?" I asked, trying to get as much information as I could.

"…People die in this competition every year." Freya said cautiously.

"Trevor, are you going to participate?" Zidane asked.

"Well, I'm here and I have some time on my hands, so I might as well." I said. "I'm really excited for it."

"I don't recommend it." Freya said. "You could very easily die."

"Actually, I think he'd be okay." Zidane said in my defense. "If it wasn't for Trevor, I would've died a few times before I even got here."

"Speaking of swords, I need a new one." I said. I finished the rest of my soup in a single gulp and stood up from my stool.

"A new one?" Zidane asked perplexed. "Didn't you just get a new one earlier today?"

It was true that the things in Dali happened just earlier today. As nice as this sword was, I knew I could find better. And I wanted the best.

"I'm just fickle." I said. "See ya later." I said to Zidane. I turned to Freya. "It was nice meeting you Freya." I said politely. "I hope to see you in the Festival."

"You too." Freya said to me.

With a smile and a final wave, I walked out of the pub and started my way towards to Business District.

I had some new weapons to buy.

----------------

Krimson- Well, that chapter was fun to write. I have a week long break from school coming up, so my classes are winding down a little. I took the chance I had and spent almost all of my weekend writing just for you guys. Why not leave a review, huh? What's it take for some of you?

Rashnefein: Maybe if you threatened them at sword point they'd be more likely to review. Just a thought. So…the next chapter will be posted…when I feel like betaing it because I like watching everyone suffer! Cheers!


	13. Dante the Engineer

Disclaimer- The Final Fantasy characters in this story belong to the hard workers at Square-Enix. I only own Trevor. Oh, and Dante too. Can't forget about him.

Author's note- Sorry it took me longer than usual to write this. I had a break from school 2 weeks ago and spent most of my time lounging around and working on another story that I finally found the inspiration to write. Then there was the matter of the psychotic amount of reading and writing my teachers assigned me as soon as I got back. It's as if they want me to go insane. Also, this is a pre-beta version of the story since Rashnefein has been busy and I didn't want to make you guys wait anymore.

In other news, huggyssupreme gets the Giant Cookie Award for pointing out that I called the "Royal Chamber" the "Conference Room" in my last chapter, a mistake that's already been corrected. If you notice anything like that in any of my future chapters, then point them out and you too could win the Giant Cookie Award!

Chapter 13- Dante the Engineer.

----------------

The sun was still high in the sky. I just finished a great lunch. I made a new friend. And I still had thousands of Gil in my pocket.

Time for a trip to the weapon shops.

I walked into the air cab terminal down the street. It wasn't a very long walk. The pub Zidane and I went to was just down the street from the taxi. Probably because drunks emerging from the pub late at night would need a close place to get a ride home. It was anyone's guess.

The cabs were lined up side to side, all facing the same direction. It wasn't a one lane thing like it was in the game. I guess it made more sense this way. Cabs were organized according to where there were headed. Cabs for the Theatrical District were lined up closest to the terminal's entrance. Cabs to the Business District were just beyond them. There were cabs for other districts in the city. Most noticeable was a cab facing the other way from all the other cabs. The sign hanging over it said it was meant for traveling to the castle. It also looked more ornate than the other cabs. Perhaps it was usually used for nobles and diplomats going off to meet with Regent Cid.

I walked down the platform and headed to one of the cabs heading to the Business District. The cab was coated in a nice blue shade of paint. The trim around the doors and the edge of the ship was a light brown color, like freshly cut wood. It almost looked like a carriage out of a fairy tale, but without the wings or glittering horses that one would see in a Disney movie, although it did have a propeller engine on both sides. I reached for the door handle and swung the door open.

"Business District please." I said as I walked in the door.

"You got it mac." the driver said as he looked back to see someone stepping into his cab. He put down the newspaper and turned the ignition. A loud roar came from the front of the ship and it levitated off of the ground as the propellers powered up. I had to hold myself in place so that I didn't roll around inside the ship. With a sudden _whoosh_, the airship took off for the Business District.

"Cutting classes mac?" the driver called back as we left the terminal.

"What?" I said.

"You look like a college student." the driver said. "Most college students have classes now. I just assumed you were skipping."

Apparently there was another university somewhere in Lindblum. It seemed that after the lunch hour, most students either went to class or shut themselves up in the library until their next class. In other words, the college in Lindblum was boring.

"I guess you could say that." I was skipping classes in the ultimate way. I was missing my classes in the real world _and_ I was skipping the classes at Alexandria University where I told everyone I attended. And now, as far as the driver knew, I was skipping classes at whatever college was in Lindblum. I was skipping classes in three colleges at once. I deserved some sort of medal for that sort of accomplishment.

"They just got boring?" the driver asked.

"I just needed a little break." I said. It wasn't a complete lie. Before I came to Gaia, I was pretty stressed out. My thoughts turned back to my friends back on campus. _I wonder what's happening there._ Had my friends noticed my disappearance? Was time flowing the same way or was I trapped in some sort of pocket dimension where a year here means three seconds on Earth? More importantly, when would be the next time I could eat pancakes?

"We're here." the driver said suddenly. I looked out the window and saw the air cab terminal coming closer. It looked the same as the one in the Industrial District. Cabs were lined up the same way and passengers were lined up, waiting for rides to other districts. Since the lunch hour was just finishing, business men and women were busy trying to commute to other parts of the city. The terminal was packed. We quickly parked, although the ship's propellers kept spinning. I knew that as soon as I got out, someone was going to try to take the cab somewhere else.

"That'll be 45 Gil mac." the driver said as he turned around for his fare. I nodded in response and reached for the money pouch at my side. I fished around for the right coins and pulled several out. I flipped through them until I came across the right amount and handed it to the driver. I poured the rest back into the pouch and opened the door.

"Have a nice day!" the driver called as I exited the cab.

"You too." I called back. Then, as predicted, someone shoved passed me and jumped into the cab as I left. There were a lot more people here than I thought there would be. Evidently, commuting was a really big thing in this city.

I fought my way through the crowd, ignoring the temptation to unsheathe my sword and chop my way through, mainly because I didn't want to risk dropping my sword in this crowd and never seeing it again. I needed it for the synthesis job later. I pushed my way through engineers, artists and other workers of the city until I finally found the exit. With one last push, I shoved myself through the last of the crowd. I held myself in awe as I examined the Business District.

Tall buildings loomed over me as I walked out of the air cab terminal. People ran about busily in the street, going wherever they were going. The buildings were all a few stories high, about two or three on average. The orange brick buildings were topped by sea green roofs. Somehow, just looking at them was exhilarating. Maybe it was because I was still trying to get used to the fact that I was in my favorite game. I had been here for a little more than a week, but I still couldn't believe it.

I got my fill of the sights and walked down towards the main plaza of the district.

Small shops were lined up at the sides of the street. Everything from cleaning products to weird food was being sold. I recognized the gysahl pickles as I passed through the first plaza. Their stench wafted out into the street. Just as the game suggested, they smelled terrible. It was like cheese mixed with really bad manure based fertilizer. Oddly enough, that smelled just like some of the fertilizer they used on campus back home. I had smelled that stench too many times so there was no way I was going to try them.

"Fresh pickles for sale!" the old woman running the stand called. "Buy them while they're good and juicy!"

I walked by, trying to ignore the old woman, by as my luck has a way of annoying me, she tried to get my attention by calling out to me.

"Young man, why not try a gysahl pickle?" she said. "They're good for you."

I stopped in my tracks, angry at myself for being too polite to just ignore someone like that. "No thanks." I said, worried that she'd be insistent and demand that I try at least one.

"Oh come now. Be a little open minded." she said, being insistent and demanding that I try at least one.

I had to think fast. This woman clearly wouldn't shut up until I tried one. I didn't care how good they tasted, the smell was enough to give me a headache. I had to improvise.

"Actually, I just got out of a big lunch, so I'm pretty full." I said, more or less telling the truth.

"Oh, alright dear." the old woman said. "Just come back when you want a snack later."

"I will." I said, making a mental note to build some rocket skates so that I could zoom by this place as fast as I could later on. I ignored it for now and kept walking down the street to the main plaza.

It wasn't long before I saw a big fountain in the middle of a circular dead end. Finally, I found the pointy weapons part of town. Dragoos' Weapon Shop was off to the right. I'd need to head there first. Torres' Synthesis Shop was off to the left. That'd be my next stop. The buildings here were all the same as the ones I'd come across until that point. All a few stories high and made of brick. I couldn't wait anymore. The sooner I did this, the sooner I'd have my new weapons, so I headed into Dragoos' Weapon Shop.

As soon as I walked into Dragoos' store, I started drooling. There were more swords and daggers than I thought a store could hold. Broad swords, claymores, daggers, rapiers, great swords. This store had everything. Well, except for what I wanted, but that's what the synthesis shop was for.

"Welcome!" a burly man behind the counter said with a friendly smile. That was Dragoos, no doubt. He was a large, bearded man with an orange shirt and black work pants. He looked like he could crack open a steel plated safe just by stomping on it. Oddly noticeable was his belt, which had a center piece that looked like a steering wheel from a boat. Maybe that meant that he was a sailing enthusiast.

"Hi." I said. "I need some weapons."

Dragoos let out an enormous laugh as he slapped his protruding gut. "Well you're in the right place kid!" he said as he laughed. "We're having a special for the Festival of the Hunt. Just tell me what you need."

I looked around the shop and saw a pair of mythril daggers resting in a display case. They'd be perfect for what I had in mind.

"I'll take a pair of mythril daggers please."

Dragoos opened one of the display cases and pulled out a pair of mythril daggers. They shined a soft green as the light reflected off of them. Their hilts contrasted perfectly with a silver sheen. They were placed in leather sheaths and set on the counter.

"That'll be 1700 Gil please." Dragoos said. I almost staggered backwards at the price, but if I won the Festival of the Hunt, I'd easily make the money. Reluctantly, I pulled out 1700 Gil from the pouch of money at my side and handed it all over. Dragoos took it with a kind smile and pushed my new blades over to me. I picked them up and hooked the sheaths to my belt.

"Thanks." I said as I turned to leave the shop.

"Have a nice day!" Dragoos said.

Walking around with three blades attached to my belt was far from easy. I had to hold my pants up because of how much weight my belt was now carrying. The mythril swords weren't that heavy since mythril is a pretty light metal, but the iron sword was already testing my ability to carry a sword all the time. It didn't really matter though. The synthesis shop was just down the street. As soon as I got to the counter in there, I could drop all my weapons off and get an entirely new set. I ran across the plaza, impatient for my new weapons.

Inside Torres' Synthesis Shop, the forge was burning away. It was so hot that I could feel the heat from the doorway. I didn't know how the workers in the shop could stand it, but I guess they just learned to live with it. I approached the counter and pulled my sword and daggers out of their sheaths.

"Can I help you?" a young man working in the shop asked. He had blonde hair and was wearing a hat. He had a white shirt and blue overalls on. I thought he looked like an old fashioned railroad worker. He walked up to the counter and stood ready to help however he could.

"Yeah, can you bind iron and mythril into an alloy?" I asked.

The young man nodded his head. "It'll take us a while, but we can do it."

That was exactly what I wanted to hear. If iron and mythril could be turned into an alloy, my new weapons would be even stronger.

"What kind of an order do you need?" the young man asked again. "What are we turning these all into?"

I couldn't help but smirk out of glee as I answered. "I'll need-"

"Heads up!" came a voice from behind me.

I turned around and saw another young man coming in the doorway. He was carrying a large sack of some kind the size of a pumpkin and had two swords on either side of his hips. He set the sack on the counter next to my weapons, then collapsed from exhaustion, gasping for breath. He looked like he was just a little younger than me.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah…I'm fine" he said between breaths from the floor. "That sack's… really… heavy."

The new guy had short curly brown hair. He was wearing a white undershirt along with black overalls. His boots were either black or caked with soot. I couldn't tell which.

"Another batch I assume?" the guy working in the synthesis shop said.

"You got it Wayne." the second guy said. He was still breathing hard. I offered my hand to help him up, which he gladly took. I pulled him to his feet and he leaned against the counter for support.

"Geez Dante." the guy behind the counter said. "If you keep this up, you won't last ten minutes in the Festival."

I turned to the new guy, Dante. "You're going to be in the Festival of the Hunt?" I asked.

"Yup." he said. "I'm going to be testing a prototype weapon. If the tests go well, Regent Cid might incorporate it into the military. That way, our ground troops will have an even better chance of fighting off any enemies. Lindblum would command the air and the land!"

I already knew about Lindblum having a superior air force over the other countries of the continent, but was this guy's idea really so good that it would revolutionize Lindblum's military?

"I'm sorry to interrupt sir," the guy working behind the counter, Wayne, said. "But I need to know what you want done with your weapons here."

I looked back at the counter and saw my weapons waiting to be modified. Back in Sword Club, I was the most proficient fighter in dual wielding, so of course I needed…

"Right." I said. "I need a pair of short swords, both with an iron center, but bonded with the mythril on the outer layer. And give both of the blades fullers while you're at it."

A fuller on a sword was like a shallow scoop was taken out of the blade. It allowed for more metal to be put into the sword which added to the force of the attacks, but reduced it's weight to allow for easier control. As long as it was made well, it could lead to some great advantages in combat.

"You sound like you really know swords." Wayne said.

"Bits and pieces." I said.

"Are you going to be in the Festival too?" Dante asked.

"Yup." I extended my hand in a sign of friendship. "Name's Trevor. Nice to meet you."

Dante looked at me and smiled back. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Dante." He grabbed my hand in a friendly shake.

"I assume you go to college here?" I asked. Dante at least seemed old enough to be in college.

"Actually no." Dante answered. "I have a job as an engineer."

"What, did you drop out?"

"More like I postponed it." Dante said casually. "I wanted to start working so I could get a patent or two in."

Wayne took our supplies back behind the counter. "Hey guys!" he called, grabbing our attention. "Your orders will be ready by tomorrow." he said. "Just be back sometime tomorrow afternoon."

"Alright. Thanks." I said.

"Thanks Wayne." Dante said.

Wayne headed into the back of the shop to start working on our orders. Which reminded me…

"So what _did_ you order?" I asked Dante as we left the shop. Apparently, he and Wayne were involved in some secret project. He didn't even have to explain what he wanted. However, Dante was too busy chuckling to himself to answer.

"Ammunition." Dante finally answered.

"Ammunition?" I asked, confused. "You mean like for a cannon?"

"The bag was filled with an explosive powder I've been experimenting with." he explained. "The swords are to be melted down for the casing around the powder."

"So what weapon are you going to use?" I asked, fully interested in the way this was turning out. If it was what I thought it was, then Dante was one interesting person.

"When fighting in an open field, what is one of the most important things to consider?" Dante asked me.

I thought for a second, then came up with an answer. "Your enemy's position and any possible tactics he might use?"

"…Well that," Dante said. "But there's also range. You can't kill someone with a sword unless you're really close to them."

"Well, we have cannons for that."

"Not easily." Dante corrected. "Cannons need lots of people to be used, plus they're heavy and difficult to fire. So why not use something smaller and easier to fire?"

"Because nothing like that exists, right?"

A prideful grin grew across Dante's face. "Hold on a sec." he said. He reached behind himself and, much to my disbelief, pulled out a medium sized handgun.

"What the hell…" I said, more out of surprise than confusion as I think he would have expected.

"I call it a gun." Dante explained as we continued walking. "It's like a cannon, but on a much smaller scale." Dante flipped the gun around so that I was looking at it sideways. He pointed to the barrel. "An explosion in the barrel propels the ammunition forward and sends it wherever the barrel is pointed. Cool, huh?"

I already knew a lot about guns. Before I went off to college, my father took me to a gun range to learn how to fire handguns, just in case I ever needed to know and to teach me something about holding a deadly weapon in my hands. Apparently, none of the swords I kept in my room counted as deadly weapons.

Dante's gun was clearly a single shot handgun. There was no magazine clip, but there was an opening on the side of the chamber which was where the ammo was inserted. It was a pretty archaic design, but it was just the first step for this world, so a minor detail like that could be overlooked.

"Very nice." I said. "How accurate is it?"

"It's pretty accurate if you have a steady hand." Dante said, demonstrating how to grip a gun in his hands. He pointed the gun at the bell hanging from the tower next to Alice's Item Shop clear on the other side of the plaza. "I could hit that bell from here easily."

There was about 50 feet between Dante and that bell. If he could hit it from that distance, then he must have been practicing for a while.

"So why are you competing in the Festival this year?" Dante asked.

"Me?" I started. "I wanted to test myself and win some money." I said. After paying for my new short swords, I was going to need it. "What about you?"

"Regent Cid said he would consider mass production if my gun worked effectively enough. I need to field test this and the Festival of the Hunt was the safest way for me to do it."

"By 'safest' I assume you mean that you don't need to worry about fighting enemies randomly in the wild?"

"Yup."

Dante was either crazy or reckless.

"Actually," Dante started. "I was hoping to get some help during the fighting, just for any needed protection."

"You mean like a bodyguard?"

"Something like that." Dante said. "You seem to know a lot about swords. Why don't you help me?"

Okay, Dante was definitely crazy.

"Why would you need my help?" I asked.

"Sometimes it can take awhile for me to reload my gun." Dante explained. "Or, if I'm not careful I might get killed."

"Confident, aren't you?"

"So whadda ya say? Partners?" Dante asked, stretching his arm out to shake my hand and close the deal. As much as I wanted to help out, I needed the prize money, and helping Dante test out his gun would slow me down. I'd need every second I was given if I was going to stay ahead of Zidane and Freya.

"Well, I'd like to help, but doing that might slow me down, so I'm sorry, but-"

"I'll split the patent with you." Dante interrupted.

"…What?"

"If you help me test it, then I'll split the money I get from the patent. Fifty-fifty."

Okay. So Dante was crazy, reckless and quite possibly desperate. But he was a good guy, so maybe I would help him. Besides, since I was going to have a nice pair of short swords by tomorrow, when was the next time I'd need to do any major spending anyway?

"Well, if you put it that way, I guess I could." I told my new friend. I grabbed his hand and we shook on it.

"YES!" Dante said, jumping in the air, still clutching on to me hand. "Don't worry! We'll make a ton of money!" he said, shaking my hand enthusiastically.

"If you're not careful you're going to rip my arm off." I told him with a hint of urgency in my voice. Dante stopped as soon as I got the last word out.

"Sorry." he said, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"It's alright." I said as I massaged my now worn out shoulder.

Just then, a bell toned somewhere in the distance. It rang twice, indicating the time of day.

"Geez, it's that late?" Dante said as he looked into the distance where the bell seemed to come from. "I'm going to be late for my shift." Dante turned around and ran in the direction of the air cab terminal. He stopped after a few feet and turned back around.

"Thanks again Trevor!" he yelled. "I'll see you in the Festival."

I waved goodbye before Dante turned around again and ran off.

With Dante gone and my order placed with the synthesis shop, I had nothing to do but kill time, and what better way to waste time than getting sleep after fighting two entities of evil and narrowly escaping to another country with my life barely intact?

I walked down the street in the same direction Dante ran off. A few minutes later I found myself in front of the inn across the street from the air cab terminal. It didn't look any different from the rest of the buildings in the area at first, but inside it was much cozier. The front desk was basked in a warm glow from the fire from across the room. Why a fire was burning at two in the afternoon, I couldn't understand. The rest of the room had a real friendly feeling, like when you come home after being away from your family for months. Again, my thoughts were turned to my parents. I knew that somewhere, somehow, my mother was pulling her hair out due to her frantic worrying.

I approached the man at the front desk.

"Welcome." he said in a friendly voice. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah. I just need a room for the night." I said.

"Very well sir." he said, pushing a large book towards me. "It's 50 Gil a night. Just sign your name."

I was certainly getting to learn a lot about the economy on Gaia. I signed my name then handed over 50 Gil. The innkeeper handed over a key and told me, "Your room is just up the stairs. Second door on the right."

"Alright, thanks." I said, glad that this innkeeper was nicer than the last one I had to deal with. That bastard in Dali was probably crying to himself by now. The guests he allowed to stay at his inn were the ones who stole their cargo ship and disrupted their operations, even after they tried to kidnap Vivi and torture me. The irony made me laugh, although I was going to have to see a doctor at some point to see what the hell they did to me there. The back of my neck no longer hurt, but I was still concerned.

"Oh!" I remembered. I turned back to the innkeeper and told him, "If a guy with messy blonde hair and a ponytail and a little guy with a steeple crowned hat show up here, they're with me."

"Yes sir." the innkeeper said. "What are their names?"

"Zidane Tribal and Vivi…" _Oh crap! What was Vivi's last name? I know it starts with an 'O'._

"Sir? Their names?" the innkeeper asked again patiently.

"The little guy's name is Vivi." I said. "He's easy to identify when you see him. He wears a pointy tan hat and a blue overcoat."

"Alright, I'll let them come up if I see them."

"Thanks." I said.

I grabbed the key off of the counter and headed up the stairs. The hallway upstairs looked just like the floor below in the inn's lobby. The wallpaper was divided between blue patterns on the top half of the walls and green on the bottom. The color scheme in this city seemed a little off sometimes.

As I passed the first door on the right, I noticed that it was open. Out of pure curiosity I looked in.

Inside there was a big moogle bouncing on the bed saying "Kupo!" with each jump. He looked like a big white teddy bear with a red ball bouncing on his head. He was looking out the window, so he didn't see the twisted look of confusion that was plastered on my face. It was cute, but it was really weird to see. I stopped watching and made my way down the hallway.

The next room on the right was my room. I opened the door and saw four beds lined up in the corners of the room. It was arranged just like the room was back in the inn in Dali, except this room was a square rather than a circle. At least this time no one had to sleep on the floor.

I choose the bed on the left closest to the window. I laid down on top of the sheets and pulled the pillow underneath my head. I was asleep in minutes.

----------------

A slap across the shoulder woke me up from my sleep. I shifted in place and opened my eyes. I sat up and looked around the room. The room was only lit by a candle on a table in the corner of the room. Sunlight was no longer pouring in from the window. Apparently, it was late at night. Vivi was sitting on a bed across the room and Zidane was standing next to my bed. His hair was dripping wet, which he was drying with a towel.

"Did I miss something?" I asked.

"The bath down the hallway." Zidane said as a joke. "You might want to go take one."

It had been a week since I took a bath. My hair was practically at it's limits. A quick shower would definitely help my looks.

I stretched myself awake as I stood up from my bed. The rest I had gotten was great. I started to walk out of the doorway, but Zidane raised an arm to stop me.

"Hmm?" I muttered tiredly.

"You're sure you want to do the Festival of the Hunt, right?" Zidane asked cautiously.

_You mean miss the best chance I had to test myself and all the training I had ever undergone with swords in an unknown and dangerous setting, not to mention helping out Dante?_ "Of course I'm sure."

"Alright then. I'll sign you up." Zidane offered.

"Really? Thanks." I said, which really helped since I didn't know where to go to sign up.

"No problem." Zidane said. He used his towel to flatten out his hair like a comb. At least I knew how he got his hair like that now. "Well, I'm turning in for the night." he said.

"Night." I said.

"Good night." said Vivi.

I walked out of the room and headed down the hallway, hoping that there were clean towels and decent shampoo available.

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Krimson- Yeah, I know. A gun's probably stretching it, but no one's done it before (as far as I know) and I wanted to do it. Please review telling me if you think it's too ridiculous.


	14. The Day Before the Battle

Disclaimer- I don't own the characters in this story, with the exception of Trevor and Dante. Also, I technically don't own Wayne or Uzu. They already exist in Final Fantasy IX. I just manipulated their characters a little.

Author's note- Sorry this took so long for me to update, but Fanfiction was giving me problems for no apparent reason. Fortunately, tht's over with now and we can all get on reading the awesomeness that is Shattereed Mind.

Also, for those of you who care, this is the longest chapter I've ever written! 8100 words!!! Just thought I'd tell you.

Chapter 14- The Day Before the Battle.

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I rolled over on my side for the twentieth time that morning. I had never been so relieved to be in a soft, well-cushioned bed. The floor from the inn at Dali and the ground out in the wilderness was never all that much fun. Rocks always found a way to jam themselves into my back. Not fun in the least.

"So, are you going to lounge around in bed all day, or are you going to get up and do something?" Zidane criticized from my bedside.

"Lee' me 'lone." I muttered with my face stuffed into my pillow. I wasn't really tired, but I wanted to rest up. Comfy beds are NOT something that should be taken for granted.

"Good morning." came a voice from the hall. I raised my head enough to see Vivi standing in the doorway.

"You're up early." Zidane said.

"Lindblum is a really busy place." Vivi said as he walked into the room. "I've never seen this many people before. I wonder where people go when the wanna be alone…"

"Lindblum has always been like this." Zidane explained. "People come here from all over the world. Some of them come here to become airship engineers, sculptors, and actors."

"Wow."

Zidane walked over to the wall and leaned against it. "I don't even remember why I came here my first time." he said. "Before I knew it, I was living here with my Tantalus brothers."

"Do they still live here?"

"You guys are too noisy." I whined from underneath the sheets. Zidane retaliated by throwing a pillow at my head.

"Our hideout is in the Theater District." Zidane said, answering Vivi's questions. "I'm gonna go there right now. Do you wanna come along?"

"Um, that's okay." Vivi told him. "I'm gonna go look around town."

"Okay." Zidane said, straightening up. "Then I'll give you a little tour."

"No, that's okay." Vivi insisted. "I can go by myself."

"Ohh…okay." Zidane said with an undertone of perversity. "Go find yourself a cute girl, alright?"

I heard the floorboards squeak as Vivi walked out of the room. There was a small pause of silence before Zidane spoke again.

"You think he'll be okay this time?" Zidane asked in all seriousness.

I pulled the sheets that were covering my face down and looked at him. "There's no one here who knows about the operation in Dali except for us." I told him. "He'll be just fine."

"If you say so." Zidane said. "I'm just a little worried about him."

"He'll be fine." I said again.

"Hmm. Maybe you're right."

"Yeah, so relax, okay?"

Zidane finally smiled as his shoulders settled and he let out a breath. He walked towards the door. "I'm heading out now." he said from the doorway. "Just make sure you wake up before the cleaning ladies come in to clean the sheets."

I threw a pillow like a discus right at his head. Zidane blocked the throw with his arm and ducked out of the room before I had a chance to throw another one. I smirked as Zidane ran away, then I just shrugged the whole thing off and pulled the covers over my eyes again and went back to relaxing in bed.

----------------

I got up and left the inn a little later after one of the cleaning ladies threatened me with a plunger. They could be pretty threatening with one of those things. With nothing else to do for the rest of the day, I decided to go hang around town. With any luck my new short swords were finished. That seemed like a good place to start the day, or rather, the early afternoon.

I turned left as I headed out of the inn. I noticed that the air cab terminal was just as busy as it was the previous day. People crowded the outside of the building just trying to get in. I was glad that I didn't have to use the air cabs to get to the synthesis shop.

I made my way down the street towards the Torres' Synthesis Shop like I did the other day. The plazas were as busy as always. Carts and display cases lined the edges of the streets, including the dreaded old woman selling the gysahl pickles. Once again, I stayed far to the other side of the street to avoid her. There was still no way in hell I was going to try one of those things.

Torres' Synthesis Shop was just around the corner as I entered the next plaza. I contained myself as best I could as I walked into the shop. There was a little bit of a rush as I walked, but I knew how good the workers here were. One of the NPC's from the game claimed that they made him a war hammer from a frying pan.

As soon as I walked into the shop, I saw Wayne talking from behind the counter. I also saw another familiar face talking with Wayne.

"Dante! How are ya?" I asked.

"Not bad." the engineer said. "Just picking up my order." He hoisted a pouch off the counter that looked like it was big enough to fit a small melon inside of it.

"What is that?" I asked.

Dante opened the zipper on top of the pouch and angled it so that I could see. Inside the bag were more bullets than I had seen in one place before.

"Nice."

"Your order's ready too." Wayne said to me from behind the counter. He walked back into the shop and picked up a pair of short swords from a table. They were both strapped into their own leather sheaths, which solved my problem of how I was going to carry them around. Wayne brought them to the front and set them both down on the counter.

"Here they are." Wayne said as he presented them.

I picked up one of the short swords and undid the buckle holding it in its sheath so that I could pull it out and examine it.

The short sword was a good twenty inches long with a nine inch handle. The metal from the blade reached all the way down into the hilt, a must for any sword made for combat. That way, the blade wouldn't slip out of the hilt while I was fighting. The blade shone a light green in the low light of the store. It almost looked like it was carved out of marble instead of mythril. The fullers scooped into the flat of each blade were shallow, yet deep enough to relieve the blade of some weight, which was already pretty light already. The pommel at the tip of the handle was a small iron ball, which was just what I needed. If the pommel was too large, it threw the balance off, but if it was too small, the blade would slip out of my hand when I swung the sword. With a pair of weapons like this, I felt like I could take on Zidane and Freya both at the same time.

"They're just like you ordered." Wayne said. "Iron cores bonded with a mythril casing on the outer layer."

I unsheathed the other sword and stood with both of them in my hands. I balanced myself in the small area I had and got a feel for how the swords weighed in my grasp. I twisted my arms around, going through a few practice moves I knew, shifting my weight, testing how well I could wield them. Although I was good at using short swords, I had never held a pair of metal ones before. I only practiced with wooden ones back in Sword Club. This pair was noticeably heavier, but they were just as effective.

"Do they work?" Dante asked.

"Very well." I answered.

"Then there's the simple matter of payment." Wayne pointed out. I winced as he mentioned it. I only had a little more than 2000 Gil left. I just hoped it was enough.

"So, how much are they?" I asked.

"Well, since you're helping out Dante, I think I can cut you a break." Wayne said with an understanding nod. "600 Gil."

I blinked in confusion at first. I thought I was going to have to end up paying something far more ridiculously expensive. That made sense considering how hard it must've been to make these swords. The low price was nice, but I couldn't help wondering…

"What do you mean you're cutting me a break because I'm helping out Dante?" I had to ask.

Wayne smiled as he answered. "I think Dante has a good idea going." he said. "Guns could easily replace swords in combat over time." I narrowed my eyes when I heard that. Although it was true that guns made better weapons for modern combat, they were nowhere near as cool as swords. "So, I help Dante make his guns and bullets. When he gets the patent for his gun approved, I'll be the only one who can make them. Business will skyrocket!"

"How do you know you'll be the only one to make them?" I asked.

"Binding contract." Dante said simply. "Once Regent Cid hears my idea, I'll tell him that the only way I'll approve of mass production of these weapons will be through Wayne."

Wayne smiled goofily as he leaned on the counter.

"So the three of us profit from one man's idea?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"More or less." Wayne said.

I just smiled back. With my free hand I pointed to Dante. "Idea." was the only word I said. I moved my hand a little to the right so that I was pointing to Wayne. "Production." I twisted my wrist around so that I was pointing at myself. "Muscle."

"You got it." Dante joked.

"Gentlemen, we have the start of a mafia here." I said sternly.

All three of us broke into laughter as we considered what it would be like for the three of us to be in a mafia. I could see the three of us walking down a street with black trench coat, with matching hats and sunglasses. Then we could have a turf war with the Italian mafia!

"So, Trevor was it?" Wayne asked.

"Yup." I answered.

"You still haven't paid yet."

I raised an eyebrow as I realized that Wayne was right. My frown shifted to one side as I looked back at him. "Observant, aren't you?"

"I am when it comes to money."

I couldn't help but smirk as I pulled the money pouch out and took out 600 Gil. Wayne held his hand out and I gave him the coins.

"Thanks." he said as he took the money.

"Hey Trevor, have you eaten yet?" Dante asked.

As if on cue, my stomach growled. I pushed inwards against it to quiet it down. "Nope." I answered simply.

"Well why not join me?" he said. "I was just about to head out and grab something from the main plaza."

Was I really so gifted that everyone wanted to have lunch with me? First Zidane and now Dante. It was like I was a Hollywood producer all of a sudden.

"Sounds good." I said. I walked back to the counter and sheathed my short swords. I attached the sheaths to my belt, suppressing the desire to jump up and down screaming in joy that I had my favorite type of deadly weapons attached at my hip.

"Wanna come along Wayne?" Dante asked.

Wayne just declined it with a wave of his hand. "Can't right now." he said. "I still have orders I need to work on."

Dante shrugged. "Okay. Your loss." he said as he walked out of the shop. "See ya Wayne."

"Later Wayne." I said as I followed Dante out.

"Later guys." Wayne said. I saw him head deeper into the shop right before I left, no doubt to do some more work.

----------------

The sky outside was a beautiful shade of blue. The sun was shining and just made everything around seem friendlier. There were a few people walking around town, but even so, the plaza was pretty empty. I thought that a slight breeze would have been nice, but even without the wind, it was still really nice out. Lindblum really was a beautiful city.

"So where do you want to eat?" Dante asked. He was busy spinning his gun by the trigger guard like he was in some old western movie.

I shrugged. "I dunno." I answered. "Let's find something in the other plaza."

"Ooh! I know just the place!" Dante flipped his gun in the air, catching it by the handle and slipping it back into its holster. I would've called him a show-off, but I was the same way with swords sometimes. I had a tendency to twirl them in my hands when I wasn't doing anything. Dante picked up his pace as we walked to the next plaza. I walked faster to keep up with him.

Small shopping stalls edged themselves along the sides of the streets as we walked into the next open block. Barkers from each stall were trying to sell everything from kids' toys to oglop oil, a product whose only purpose I could think of seemed inappropriate to sell next to a stall meant for children. I have a very dirty mind at times.

"Here it is." Dante said as we neared the end of the plaza. I turned my attention ahead and shuddered as I saw Dante walking towards the one place I hoped he wasn't going.

The old woman selling gysahl pickles.

"Hi. I'd like two pickles please." Dante said. I stopped walking as soon as I was close enough to smell the pickles. They still had the cheese mixed with manure smell and it was more pungent than ever. Eating one of those would make me either vomit or pass out, or both.

Dante waved me over to the stall as he paid for the "food". I hesitantly approached, the smell getting worse with each step.

Dante stretched out a pickle towards me as soon as I was close enough. "Here ya go." he said cheerfully as he bit into his pickle.

"Uhh…you know what? I'm not hungry." I said.

"Are you sure?" Dante asked. "These are pretty good. And you sounded pretty hungry earlier."

"Nah, I'm fine." I said. Then my stomach growled loudly in the ultimate betrayal.

"You sound pretty hungry to me." the old woman running the stall interrupted.

"Really, I'm fine." I said. The way the woman talked reminded me of how my mother treated me sometimes. I felt a well of anger building up within me.

"Just try one deary." the old woman said. She had a sweet and well meaning tone in her voice, but I hated being talked to like that. It was as if people thought I was a little kid.

"No, really. I'm fine." _Stop it._

"Just half of one." the old woman pestered.

"No. I'm fine." I said with a little more irritation. _Stop it!_

"Oh come now! You need it to grow into a strong young man." the old woman said, really getting on my nerves by this point. What the hell did that mean? I was already in college! Why was she talking about me growing into a 'strong young man'?

"No." I said between gnashed teeth. _STOP IT!_

My anger was starting to over whelm me. I felt an enormous need to bash the old woman in the nose.

"How about this." the old woman said, getting cocky. "You try at least one bite and-"

"SHUT UP THE HELL UP!" I yelled in a rush of anger. I was about ready to bite the old woman's throat open. She should have just stopped talking after I declined the damn pickles the first three times.

"Geez Trevor." Dante said cautiously. "Calm down."

My anger died down quickly as I realized what I had done. After all the persistence the old woman showed I was bound to explode like that, but I didn't mean to. I rubbed my face with my hands to try to calm myself down.

"Are you okay?" Dante asked.

"Yeah, yeah." I said in a hushed tone. "I'm sorry. I just need to go relax." I turned away to head down the street. "I'll…uh…I'll see you at the Festival Dante."

"Yeah. See ya." he said. He waved as he turned back the other way.

I walked away from the food cart and headed down the street away from the whole scene.

_What's wrong with me?_ I wondered. Normally, I was a lot more controlled than that. Even if the old woman was annoying, she wasn't a bad person. Normally I would've just found an excuse to walk away. For some reason, I was feeling more agitated than usual lately. It had to be something that those freaks did in Dali.

_That's it!_ I suddenly realized. _They injected me with some weird chemical that gets me angry at the drop of a hat. _I rubbed the sides of my head as I realized what that meant. With my history of anger problems, I was going to have to be very, _very_ careful around the others.

"Hey Trevor!"

I turned around and saw Vivi walking behind me. He had a really cheery look on his face.

"Hey Vivi." I said, dropping my hands to my sides. "What's up?"

"I just found out about the Festival of the Hunt!" he said excitedly. "It sounds like a lot of fun!"

"I know!" I said. Vivi mentioning a challenge like the Festival was just what I needed to distract me from yelling at the old woman. Years ago, I learned that it was better not to dwell on my mistakes. "I'm going to get at least a hundred points!"

"Points?" Vivi said with a tilt of the head. "What do you mean?"

I looked at him in confusion. Then I remembered: at this point in the game, he didn't know what the Festival really was. The woman running the item shop accidentally told him that it was where a bunch of animals were released into the streets.

"Vivi, the Festival of the Hunt is where they release a bunch of beasts into the streets and people competing in the Festival chase them and kill them." I explained.

Vivi shrank back a little as he heard the news. "But…I thought it was like a parade." he said sadly. "I was really looking forward to it."

"Well, it's still something to look forward to." I said.

Vivi looked back at me with curious eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, Zidane and I are going to be participating in the Festival." I pulled one of my short swords out of its sheath part way. "That's why I got a pair of these."

Vivi looked on in amazement. "That's a beautiful sword!" he said.

"Yeah. I know a good synthesist." I said, unsure if synthesist was really a word or not.

"So you can fight with two swords?" Vivi asked.

"It's my specialty."

Vivi stood quietly for a moment before he raised his head and smiled. "Okay. I guess I'll cheer you and Zidane on then."

"Thanks Vivi." I said as I chuckled. "I'm gonna need it to beat Zidane." I didn't really have any intention of beating Zidane though. I'd let him win so that he could ask Dagger on that date later on in the game. I also didn't have the heart to tell him that Zidane had probably signed him up to compete. There was still a chance that he didn't though. This was real life, or close enough to it. It wasn't scripted like the game was.

"No problem." Vivi said. He turned around and started walking down the street again. He stopped after a few feet and turned around. "I'm gonna keep exploring the town." he said. Then with a wave, he added, "I'll see you later."

"Have fun." I said as I waved back.

Vivi walked off in his direction and I walked off in mine. I was headed to the air cab terminal, hoping it had cleared out a little. There was still time to explore the city and I wanted to get as much of a feel for everything as I could.

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**The Old Men**

"Is he ready yet?" the first old man asked. His voice was full of doubt and worry.

"Very soon." the second one replied. His voice was as patient as ever.

The old men from Dali had been watching Trevor from the shadows ever since he and the others arrived in Lindblum. It was now the day of the Festival of the Hunt and their little experiment was still showing no progress.

"He should have been broken by now." the first one said. "It's been two whole days."

"Perhaps he has more resilience than we first though."

"Than YOU first thought!" the first old man yelled. "I said we should have waited!"

"He might not be perfect," the second old man said. "But given our time restraints, we had no choice. He's close enough."

"If this fails, we _will_ die." the first old man said grimly.

"Even if it works, we might still die."

The first old man paced around the dark room impatiently. If he could discover why the boy was able to suppress the effects of the injection, he could force him to submit and allow it to overtake him, but that should have happened minutes after the injection. What was the driving force behind this phenomena? Was it incompatibility or was it sheer control?

"There's no turning back now." the first old man said. "Because of your incompetence, we have no control over the situation now! If he dies, or rejects the injection completely, we'll have to fortify ourselves the hard way."

"We won't need to worry." the second man said calmly.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because unlike you, I've been paying attention to him." The second old man took a deep breath to relieve the pressure building in the pit of his stomach. "He's starting to lose control. He's weakening."

"You mean the outburst at the old woman yesterday?" the first old man asked.

The second old man nodded. "He won't last another day."

----------------

**Trevor**

Finally! It was the day of the Festival of the Hunt! I had been quivering with excitement all day. I woke up early, despite the comfy bed, and had eaten a filling breakfast. I even went so far as to meditate with my new short swords for an hour. I was ready for this day!

All the contestants were waiting in the Royal Conference Room in the Lindblum Grand Castle. The main dining table had been taken out of the room to make room for space for all the contestants. The room was decorated with red curtains hanging along all the walls. What was with this castle and using red curtains everywhere? Were they supposed to symbolize the blood we were going to shed later?

An elite guard dressed in red armor was standing by the throne at the far end of the room. Steiner was standing by the wall next to Dagger. He kept his eye on the crowd, no doubt on the look out for "suspicious characters", although I somehow suspected that that meant everyone in the room.

Freya was leaning against ht eopposite wall. Her arms folded in thought. She was either making a battle plan or mentally preparing herself. Vivi was standing with Dagger and Steiner. How little he suspected that he would have to be fighting soon. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Zidane or Dante by this point. Zidane I could understand, but Dante seemed really excited to test out his gun in combat like this. Where the hell was he?

The room was filled with contestants and the fans who were supporting them. There were all types of people and weapons around. Some people were using rapiers. One guy had a trident. I even saw a woman with a spiked mace. This was going to be an interesting contest.

I rested my hands on the pommels of my short swords. I gripped them tightly, eager to go out and compete. I didn't care about points or prizes by this time. I just wanted to go out and have fun!

I guess my excited pacing could've been mistaken for fear somehow, because some hulking moron came up to me with a small posse, grinning like an idiot.

"Well, well." the hulking moron said. "It looks like we have a coward here."

The two equally moronic looking guys behind him chuckled stupidly. I could tell that their combined IQ's weren't enough to power a light bulb. The main moron looked like someone ripped out of a movie like Gladiator or Ben-Hur. He had short hair, like he was trying to look like a marine or something. He had a yellow shirt under a pair of tan overalls. He looked like his mother had dressed him. The guys behind him also had short hair, but their hair covered their eyes. They had orange shirts with black overalls. Clear signs of a cartoon idiot.

"And you are…?" I asked with genuine disinterest.

"Name's Uzu." the big guy said. "And I'm gonna win the Festival this year, so you should just drop out now."

I could tell that 'Uzu' was going to be like every other moron I had to put up with back in middle school. Slow, stupid, and easily lost in an argument. He was wearing a claymore that was as big as he was on his back. It was my guess that he was compensating for something.

"Rrright…" I drew out. "Well, Uzu, I know for a fact that you won't even finish in the top five."

The morons behind Uzu started chuckling like morons again, as was their nature no doubt. "Oh, you think so?" Uzu asked.

"Yep." I answered quickly. There was no way he could beat Zidane or Freya. Hell, I could probably give him a good run.

"Well…You're wrong!" Uzu said in a remarkable display of intellect. "I'm gonna beat everyone and kill every monster out there!"

"You'll be lucky if you make it out with all your limbs in tact."

"Shut up!" Uzu yelled. "You're lucky I'm not allowed to hit anyone before the Festival starts, or I'd beat you into the ground!"

"Hey Trevor!" came a much friendlier voice from the doorway. I looked over and saw Dante making his way through the crowd of people. ""Scuse me. Pardon me." he said as he brushed passed everyone. When he finally made it to me, I saw that he was carrying something in his arms. It looked like a short, rolled up curtain.

"Sorry I'm late." he said.

"Dude, where were you?" I asked. "They're about to start."

"I just had to pick something up from Wayne." Dante said. He handed me the thing he was carrying in his arms. "He wanted to make sure we both made it out of this, so he made us these."

I took the rolled up package from Dante and unfurled it. I held it up and saw, what I assumed was, a bizarre type of armor in the shape of a T-shirt. It was made of hardened leather in a thin plating pattern. Also, it was colored red. Perhaps Wayne didn't want us to worry about cleaning the blood off of it later. Upon closer examination, I saw that the plating on the armor actually had little strips of light metal in them. It didn't even weigh that much. Once again, Wayne had impressed me with his handiwork.

"Is this armor?" I asked.

"Yup." came the answer from Dante. "I'm wearing one just like it." He rolled up the sleeve on his white T-shirt and revealed the same type of leather plating.

"Is it heavy or constricting?" I asked.

"Actually no." Dante said. "It's pretty light and easy to move in."

"Lemme see that." Uzu said from the side. He snatched my new armor right out of my hands. I knew that he was trying to play keep away, so I decided not to freak out about it.

"This thing is a piece of junk." Uzu declared. "You couldn't even sell this for anything!"

"What a remarkably dumb thing to say." I couldn't help but mutter. I had lost count at how many idiots like this I had to deal with long ago. Basically, they filled my middle school to the brim. It was amazing that I didn't go crazy and kill anyone.

"I'm gonna go throw this in a toilet." Uzu said right in my face. I just folded my arms and looked on with a bored expression. I felt a small bit of anger building up inside of me, but I managed to keep it under control this time.

"What's the matter? Too afraid to move?" Uzu said as he continued to experience diarrhea of the mouth. "I'm gonna really do it!"

"Then do it." I said blandly, calling his bluff.

"Well…I…" There was a loud smacking noise as Uzu's eyes went wide with shock. Seeing that he was distracted, I took my new armor back.

"What happened?" Dante wondered aloud.

Zidane stepped out from behind Uzu and cracked his knuckles. "I hit him in the back of the head." he explained.

"Zidane!" Vivi said as he walked towards us.

"Nice entrance." I told him.

"It's about time you got here Zidane." Freya said.

"Hey, guys." Zidane said. "Sorry I'm late." He turned to see the still somewhat stunned Uzu. "Was this guy bothering you Trevor?" he asked.

"Mildly." I told him.

Seeing that he was outnumbered, Uzu started to back away. "You just better hope I don't see you out there during the fighting." he said. He turned and walked away from us, his cohorts in close pursuit.

"That was odd." Freya commented.

"Are these friends of yours Trevor?" Dante asked.

"Oh, of course." I said, wondering how I could've have forgotten the introductions. "Guys," I said, addressing Zidane, Freya and Vivi. "This is Dante. He's an inventor here in Lindblum. Dante, this is Zidane, Freya and Vivi." I pointed to the respective person as I said their name.

A round of 'Hellos' went around as everyone introduced themselves. A hush fell over the crowd when the introductions were done. The elite guard standing by the throne had raised his hand to call for silence.

"Alright," the guard said. "I'm just going to assume that everyone's already here, so we will begin now."

"Wow Zidane," I said. "Another minute and you might've been disqualified."

"Nah." he said. "I'm too good to get disqualified."

The guard cleared his throat and unrolled a parchment that he had been holding in his hands. "For those of you who don't know the rules, I shall now go over them."

The only thing I needed to know from this guy was the time limit. Somehow, giving us all twelve minutes to hunt down all of the monsters in Lindblum seemed a little overwhelming like they did in the game.

While the guard read the rules about getting points by killing the beasts, I looked at the armor I held in my arms. Dante was wearing his armor underneath his shirt, so that seemed the smart thing to do. As discretely as I could, I pulled my shirt off over my head…

"Yeah! You go!" came a girl's voice.

"Take it off!" said another one.

Although, taking off my shirt in a room with several girls in it seemed like a bad idea now that I thought about it. Before I was sucked into this world, I managed to work out daily. I did nothing beyond push ups and sit ups, but several months of that left me with a pretty good looking body.

"Sorry ladies, but that's all you get." I said to the girls as I slipped the armor over my head. I got a chorus of disappointed groans in response.

"AHEM!" the elite guard called from the throne. He eyed the crowd angrily before continuing with the rules.

"Well someone's popular with the ladies." Dante whispered.

I chuckled lightly as I pulled my shirt back on. "It looks like I'm stealing your thunder Zidane." I whispered.

"Just wait until I win." he whispered back. "I'll steal it back"

The armor itself was pretty form fitting. It was cool to the touch at first, but it warmed up pretty quickly. I could move around in it easily enough. I just hoped that I didn't overheat in it. It didn't seem like it could breath very well.

"Those are the rules." the guard called from his place by the throne. "If you have any questions, ask them now."

I realized that I didn't hear him give a time limit. I raised my hand to ask.

"Yes?" the guard said as he pointed to me.

"What was the time limit?" I asked.

"Too busy stripping to pay attention, eh?" the guard said. Almost everyone in the room laughed. Fortunately, I already had a counter ready.

"Sorry, but that was for the women." I said bluntly. "I thought seeing guys in suits of armor all day must get pretty boring."

The crowd laughed back with a group round of 'Oooh!', mostly from the women. Even though the guard was wearing a helmet covering his face, I could tell that he was looking at me in frustration.

"He said it was two hours." Dante said from my side. I nodded in thanks.

"Pay attention for your assigned starting district." the guard said, rather than come up with a come back. "When you exit the room, talk to one of the guards by the door to request your hunter's reward."

Upon my investigation of the city, I found out that there were a lot more districts than what they showed in the game. There was a Culinary District, a Junk District, an Aristocratic District, and several others. If one thing was going to go right for me during this whole adventure, I hoped that I was assigned somewhere familiar and that I was with Dante. After what happened in Dali, someone owed me big.

The elite guard called names off of the roll of paper one by one. I didn't recognize any of them until they got to Uzu. He was assigned to the Industrial District. Pretty soon, the only ones left in the room were the people I knew. All the other hunters and their fans had left the room.

"Hunter Dante," the guard called out. "You'll start out in the Industrial District."

"With Uzu?" Dante complained. "Damn. I hate that guy."

"Do you know him or something?" I asked.

"He's the neighborhood idiot." Dante answered. "He thinks he can boss everyone around just because he's big and stupid."

The guard ignored his complaint and went on to the next name. "Hunter Zidane, you'll start at the Theatre District."

"Alright." Zidane said.

"Huntress Freya, you will start in the Business District." the guard continued.

"Okay." Freya said.

"Hunter Trevor," the guard said. I bounced on my heels impatiently. It seemed like he was intentionally stalling just to annoy me. Finally, he spoke again. "You will start in the Industrial District."

"Yes!" I called out.

"Alright!" Dante said, offering me a high five. I swung a hand at him and landed a slap right in his hand.

"And lastly, Hunter Vivi" the guard said. "You are assigned to the Education District."

"WHAT!?" Vivi said in a perplexed voice. "I never signed up!"

"I thought you would do pretty well, so I signed you up." Zidane explained. "Don't worry. With your black magic, it'll be a piece of cake."

"I…I don't know…" Vivi stuttered.

Freya folded her arms across her chest and looked at Zidane crossly. "That was very inconsiderate of you, Zidane." she said.

"Oh!" Zidane said with a snap of his fingers. He knelt down to Vivi's side and whispered into his ear. "How about this?" he said. "If you win, I'll fix you up for a date with Dagger."

"Me and the princess!?" Vivi blurted out as soon as Zidane was finished.

"SHHH! Keep it down!" Zidane whispered quickly.

"What was that!?" Steiner bellowed. "You just mentioned the princess. What evil deeds are you plotting now!?"

"It's nothing, right, Vivi?" Zidane said with a nudge to Vivi's side

"Y-Yeah." Vivi agreed.

Steiner backed off with a suspicious glare. His eyes didn't leave Zidane for a second.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the elite guard began. "You've been assigned your starting points. Please place your requests for you hunter's reward and head to the air cabs."

We walked out of the room and talked to the guard outside. He had a pen and a scroll of paper, taking down everyone's rewards.

"What do you wish for your hunter's reward?" the guard asked no one in particular.

Zidane was the first to speak. "I'll go with Gil all the way!" he said.

"And your name?" the guard asked.

"Zidane Tribal."

"Thank you." the guard said flatly as he wrote the information down. "Next."

Freya stepped up and said, "I'll take an Add-on."

"Name?"

"Freya Crescent."

"Thank you. Next."

Dante stepped up to the guard next. "I'll take Gil." he said.

"Name?"

"Dante Ingram."

"Thank you. Next."

I was next in line. I stepped up to the guard, but as soon as I did, I remembered that I wasn't going to win. If that was true, then why should I take this seriously?

"Sir?" the guard asked. "What would you like as a prize."

I held a finger up to ask for a minute as I thought of the perfect thing to ask for. Ideas swam through my head as I pondered what I could ask for. Weapons, armor, money, anything! Suddenly, it hit me…

"I want a life-sized statue of a Grand Dragon made entirely out of ice cream and chocolate syrup."

Everyone in the room just turned their heads slowly to look at me. I simply stood in place, grinning like a moron. There was an audible silence that hung in the air as everyone looked at me in confusion and surprise. It was my prize. Why couldn't I ask for something I really wanted? Grand Dragons were enormous, so that meant lots of ice cream had to be used. And I liked ice cream almost as much as I liked pancakes.

"Oookay." the guard said, writing it down. "And your name?"

"Trevor McEvoy."

The guard just shook his head as I walked away. I was still grinning as I walked to the others.

"Ice cream?" Zidane asked.

"Yup." I said happily.

"You could've asked for anything, and you ask for ice cream?"

"If I win, you guys can have some."

"Really?" Dante asked. I just nodded, trying my best not to crack up. A second later, Vivi walked to join the rest of us.

"Hey Vivi," Zidane said. "What did you ask for?"

Vivi just shuffled his feet anxiously. "Um…I asked for a card."

"A card?" Zidane asked. "You mean a Tetra Master card?"

"Y-yeah." Vivi nodded.

Tetra Master was a really popular card battle game on Gaia. Nerds from all over Gaia would build up their decks and battle each other for each other's cards. I was pretty good at it when I played the game, but only after I got the really good cards at the end of the game. I didn't dare risk any cards until then.

"Why'd you ask for a card?" Dante asked Vivi.

"Well…Trevor's reward kinda threw me off." Vivi explained.

"Heh. Sorry." I said as I scratched the back of my head.

"Attention everyone," one of the guards addressed. "If you have finished requesting your hunter's rewards, please make you way to the air cabs so that we may begin the hunt!"

At the guard's insistence, we all made our way to the air cab terminal on the floor below us. We were all silent as we rode the elevator down together. I was doing it for the sake off drama. I didn't know why the others were, but I guessed they were trying to calm down so that they could concentrate on the battles ahead. Vivi seemed to be shaking a little, presumably out of fear.

"Vivi," I said, breaking the silence. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Y-yeah." he said. "I'll be fine."

Vivi spoke with a little more confidence than he usually did. He still seemed afraid, but I knew that he wasn't going to back down. Maybe all those pep talks I had given him made him want to just go out and try hard. I really was a good therapist.

We reached the base floor and walked off of the elevator one by one. The air cabs were just down a small walkway from the elevator. For some reason, the air had a much more tense feeling than it should have as we walked. It was like we were all champions in the Olympics walking to our final competition. I was probably just reading too far into it, but somehow it just seemed like something was going to go wrong. I was sure that I was imagining things, like when someone leaves their house for a long trip and is convinced that they left something behind. I took a deep breath to settle myself down.

The air cab terminal was more packed than I thought it would be. Air cabs were lined up to head off to a specific terminal. Hunters were standing by each cab, ready to take off as soon as the timer for the Festival started. What made up most of the crowd though, was the friends and family cheering the hunters on from one side of the terminal. There was hooting and hollering for each contestant fighting. I gripped the hilts of my short swords tightly as I walked through the crowd towards the air cabs.

"Good luck everyone!" Dagger waved from the crowd as the rest of us walked away.

"Master Vivi," Steiner called out. "I shall be cheering for you!"

Dante, Freya, Zidane, Vivi and I all waved back at Dagger and Steiner as we headed towards our respective air cabs.

"This is it." I said over the noise from the crowd.

"Maybe we'll see each other out there." Zidane said.

Freya smiled as though in thought. "If that happens, I'm not taking it easy on any of you." she said.

"As it should be." Dante said to the others with a smirk.

"Good luck everyone." Vivi said.

Soon enough, Dante and I were standing in front of the air cabs that would take us to the Industrial District. I took another deep breath to get rid of the pressure that was building up in my chest. I wasn't afraid of fighting hoards of beasts without any help except for an untested in combat gun and my comrades who I probably wouldn't run into. Lindblum was a big city, and with only thirty hunters running around it, it didn't seem likely that I'd see any of these guys until the end of the whole thing.

"Ready?" Dante asked.

"Ready." I said with a nod.

We walked down the aisle between the air cabs and stood next to the door.

"Nervous?" Dante asked.

"No." I told him with a smirk. "I'm excited as hell."

Dante smirked as he heard me. "Yeah. Me too." he said.

"Well look at who finally decided to show up?" came an ugly voice from one side. I glanced sideways and saw Uzu leaning against the air cab with his two lackeys. How they managed to get assigned to the Industrial District too could only be explained by calling it the perversity of the universe. I just rolled my eyes and ignored the bleeding idiots standing just a few feet away.

"Hunters and Huntresses!" cried a voice over all the noise in the terminal. I looked up and saw Minister Artania standing on a high rising room looking over the terminal. It seemed like a control room for the terminal. "Please board your respective air cabs!" he continued as soon as the noise died down enough. "The Festival of the Hunt will begin as soon as every air cab has taken off." The crowd cheered loudly at the mention of beginning the festivities. "To all the brave hunters fighting today, commemorating all of the brave fighters in Lindblum's history: I wish you well. Good luck and good hunting!"

The crowd exploded in thunderous applause. As I looked up at Artania, I saw that he was speaking into what looked like a microphone. He must have been transmitting a broadcast over the entire city. That would make it easier to control the contestants when the Festival was over. If some people weren't paying attention to any clocks in the area, the only way they'd know that the fighting was over would be if someone told them.

The doors to the air cabs all opened and the contestants all stated piling in.

"After you." I said to Dante. He walked in and sat on one of the two rows of seats. I entered the air cab right after him and sat next to him, lest either of us had to put up with sitting next to Uzu.

"You think we're going to be okay?" Dante asked in a low voice.

"We'll be fine." I said in as low a voice. "You take out the ranged enemies and I'll take out the close in enemies."

"No," he said. "I mean, are we going to be okay traveling with Uzu like this?"

I looked to the row of seats behind us and saw Uzu struggling to sit down while his claymore was still strapped to his back. His lackeys were sitting on the very edge of their seats just to avoid the massive sword.

"We'll be fine." I said again. "He'll probably kill himself first."

Dante covered his mouth with his hand to stifle is laughter.

Outside, the engines of the air cabs started up and the audience cheered as loud as they could. I felt the air cab slowly lift off of the ground as the engines powered up. Up in the control room, Minister Artania spoke into the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the Festival of the Hunt BEGIN!!!"

----------------

There we have it! The Festival of the Hunt will really begin next chapter, where I've already started planning everything out so that you, the reader, can enjoy an unmatched, nothing held back, free for all fight rampaging throughout the streets of Lindblum! Be prepared for Trevor and Dante fighting side by side in combat with so much stacked against them, including Trevor's waning control over his anger!

The next update should come out sometime in early May. This will be my grandest battle scene to date and will cover all three known districts of Lindblum!

**Important notice.** Also, concerning the end, there is a poll going on. Send me a PM for who you want to win. The total number of votes I get will determine who wins and by how many points. Again, send it in a PM, not a review. That way, no one else will have any idea what's going to happen and I'll get to have more fun that way. Do not deprive me of my fun!


	15. Festival of the Hunt Part 1

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters in this story except for Trevor and Dante. Aren't they cute?

Author's note- Alright. I have a lot to talk about here in the author's notes before moving onto the story, so please read it. Or don't. It's not like I can really control what you do, now can I?

The votes are in and have been tallied up. You'll get the results at the end of the Festival of the Hunt. Thanks to everyone who voted for voting and for sending all the votes through PM's like I asked. I assumed I'd get at least one vote through a review, but no- I was wrong. You're all very awesome! You all deserve Big Cookie Awards! It's not as coveted as the Giant Cookie Award, but it's still pretty good.

Also, it is important that you know that I go into a little detail with the gore in this chapter. I began writing this chapter right after I finished reading All Quiet on the Western Front, so there's going to be a lot more gory detail since the story influenced me a little. If you don't like vivid details of monsters getting killed by a dual wielding maniac and his gun-toting cohort, then just skip to the bottom of the page now and leave a review saying how awesome the chapter was, 'cause you know it is.

And now it's ranting time, so send the kids out of the room.

I'm sorry this chapter is so late, but the reason that it is, is because about a week after I started writing it, my laptop died (AGAIN!!!). The hard drive somehow failed (AGAIN!!!), so I had to send it to the repair shop to get fixed (AGAIN!!!)! It was a Macintosh Macbook, and three different hard drives failed on me with that same dumbass machine/paperweight/bird cage liner in the last year.

The ranting isn't done yet.

So after I sent it to the repair shop for the third time, I was without a computer to write on for two weeks. My father, awesome as he is, managed to get the people working at the nearest Apple store to give me a new machine for free. The problem was that they didn't know how to extract all of the data from my old machine to my new one. We tried to get the data pulled by a third party group, but even if they could, that would have cost $1700, which is really nothing more than extortion. So now, I have lost everything that I've worked on for the last year. It's all gone. All my writing, all my pictures, all my essays, all my music, and all my software. Gone. Meaning that I had to restart this entire chapter, even though I really, _really_ liked the way that it was going. So I really mean it with every last ounce of sincerity that I can give when I say:

GO TO HELL APPLE COMPUTERS!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for listening.

Chapter 15: The Festival of the Hunt Part 1- The Industrial District.

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The air cab's engines roared to life as Minister Artania gave the signal to start. The body of the air cab leaned forward to gain speed as we rocketed out of the terminal. I looked out the window as I held my self in my seat. All of the air cabs exploded into the sky as they were propelled forward. The seat belts weren't enough considering how much the air cab was leaning. I practically had to dig my fingers into the upholstery of the seat. It took me a minute, but I used to the speed soon enough.

"So what are we going to do about strategy?" Dante asked from my left.

I had already thought of a working strategy while wandering the streets of Lindblum in the previous few days. The fact that we were heading to a district I already knew well enough was sheer luck. If we just stayed to the Theatre District and the Business District as well, we'd be just fine.

"I'll take point," I said, answering Dante's question. "You start the fights by shooting whatever we see, then I'll finish it off if the first shot doesn't kill it."

"But that way, I won't get any points." Dante said.

"What?"

"Weren't you paying attention while the guard was reading the rules?"

I paid about as much attention to that as I did my Narratives class. It was taught by a bloated idiot who spent the entire two and a half hour class time asking us what the stories we read "meant". And whenever you gave an answer that the teacher didn't like, even if it was just a mild interpretation, he would insult you and call you retarded. I tended to zone out and start daydreaming about myself stabbing him in the eye with a q-tip. I hated that class with a vengeance.

"No." I finally answered.

"Points are awarded to the person who finishes off the monster." Dante explained.

"Oh. Sorry." I said with an apologetic smile.

"Well, as long as I get to test this baby out, I don't really mind." Dante said, admiring his invention as he held it in his hands. "Besides, I think it'll be really funny to see a Grand Dragon made out of ice cream."

"Me too." I said with a laugh.

"But what if the monsters group up?" Dante asked.

I put my hand to my chin in thought. The monsters in the game never grouped up, but I guess that it was reasonable to assume that they would.

"If that happens, then you take out the biggest or closest monster and I'll take out the ones the charge at us."

Dante nodded in approval. "Okay. Sounds good."

"I've got a better idea." came Uzu's voice from behind us. I just rolled my eyes at hearing his painfully asinine voice.

"You two give up and let me kill everything." he said.

I was getting sick of this freaking idiot. It was time to shut him up.

"Are you really that afraid of us Uzu?" I asked him.

"Wha…NO!" he bellowed. He was even worse than Steiner.

"Then stop talking like you are."

"I wasn't!" he demanded.

"Then why do you have to try to get rid of us as competition?" I asked. "Afraid that you'll lose?"

Amazingly enough, Uzu brought his hand to his head in thought. He sat in silence, while the air cab rode on towards our stop.

It was about then that the driver turned around and said. "We'll be landing in twenty seconds."

"Alright." Dante and I said in unison. Uzu and his lackeys still sat in silence, still questioning what I had said.

I could see the air cab terminal through the front windshield. The air cab slowed as we approached. The air cab stopped leaning forward as we entered the terminal in the Industrial District. With a sudden jerk, the air cab stopped and the doors opened.

"Finally, some action." I said as I undid my seat belt.

"See you later losers!" Uzu called from the back seat as he jumped up. Fortunately, since he was still wearing his claymore on his back, he managed to wedge himself pretty well against the seat and the roof of the air cab. "Huh?" he said in surprise. He looked back and saw that he was caught.

"Nice job." I laughed as I jumped out of the air cab.

"See ya Uzu." Dante said as he left right after me.

The air cab terminal in the Industrial District was mostly underground. The several landing pads for air cabs were empty. The only way out was a long stairway set off to our right. Overall, the place looked like a big cellar.

"Ready?" I asked, unsheathing my short swords.

"Yup." Dante said, inserting a bullet into his gun's chamber.

We ran across the landing pads and charged up the stairs, leading us into a bright plaza. It was probably my overactive imagination, but it almost felt like I was walking into an apocalyptic world, full of red skies, mutated beasts, and some sort of dictatorship leading the few humans that were still alive. Damn hero stuff was getting to me.

The first thing I noticed at the top of the stairs was the big statue of a soldier with a shield and a spear standing proudly, looking over the entrance and exit of the air cab terminal. The second thing I notices was the group of four Mus climbing all over the statue. The third thing I noticed was that one of them had a scar running from its forehead to its chin in the shape of an 'S'. That's when the back of my head started to hurt from a recent incident in which I was bludgeoned with rocks.

"Trevor, stand back." Dante said. "I'm gonna take out that big one with the scar."

I raised a short sword to block his shot. "That one's mine." I said angrily.

That scar was way too identical. That had to be the same Mu that threw all the rocks at me outside of Dali. Now, I was given the perfect chance to get revenge on that damned blue squirrel. I stepped back and got ready to charge forward.

"You're mine!" I said as I gave the scarred Mu a death stare. They all turned when they heard me. The Mu with the scar glared back at me and jumped down from the statue. It raised its nose in the air and tiny sparkles of light gathered before him. They set themselves on one spot in front of him and formed into a small pile of rocks.

My short swords were raised, ready to block whatever he threw at me and to sink into his back. The Mu stood ready to throw every single one of those rocks before I even reached him. I was about to charge forward against my furry sworn enemy, when-

"Outta the way!" came a sudden call from behind me. I turned around just in time to see Uzu charge up the top of the stairs with his lackeys close behind. I didn't have time to move as he batted me aside. I fell into a roll and stopped against a nearby wall.

"Move it loser." Uzu said as he brought his giant claymore out in front of him. "This is MY kill."

I would have gotten up to fight back, but one of his lackeys brought a spear down on my chest, effectively pinning me to the ground. I saw that his other lackey held a dagger at Dante's throat, signaling for him not to move. Apparently, the only reason these guys were even around was to stop any other contestants from really fighting. That made it official: Uzu was as bad as the idiots I had to put up with in middle school.

I could only grind my teeth in anger as I looked up at the dark-haired lackey keeping me on the ground. I felt my rage welling up inside of me.

Meanwhile, Uzu was busy stretching his shoulders in a bizarre display of victory. "You should've stayed back." he sneered.

However, as soon as Uzu turned to face the Mu waiting for him by the statue, he noticed that the other Mus had jumped down to the ground and had each summoned a pile of rocks in front of them as well. I twisted my head to see what was going on when I heard Uzu gasp in surprise. I got an upside-down view of the world as I looked on while on my back.

Uzu had a dumbfounded look on his face as his number of enemies suddenly increased. Sweat formed on his forehead as he looked on, still holding his sword out. Rather than back down and walk away, Uzu suddenly charged ahead at the big blue squirrels before him. The Mu with the scar let out a loud chitter, almost like he was giving out a battle command.

I had never seen so many rocks thrown at once. It was like watching rain fall. The first few rocks only hit him in the chest, but the Mus quickly improved their aim and started hitting him in the head.

"OWW!!" he cried out. "Hey! Stop!" He tried to block the onslaught of rocks by putting his sword and a free hand out in front of him, but it didn't make any difference. The Mus just re-aimed and started hitting him in the knees and elbows instead.

"Stop it!" Uzu continued to cry out as he was pelted by rocks. Welts and bruises started to form everywhere he was hit. He almost looked like he was having a seizure from how much he was getting hit on his joints. Suddenly, good judgment overtook Uzu and he turned back to the air cab terminal and ran away.

"I'm outta here!" I called back as he ran. His lackeys looked on in confusion as their leader high-tailed it out. The lackey that was holding a dagger against Dante's throat turned and quickly followed Uzu. However, the lackey holding me down just stood in stupefied confusion. Seeing an opening, I grabbed the spear that was standing on my chest and pulled it out of its wielder's hands. I pushed myself up and, in one quick motion, punched the guy square in the jaw with the cross guard of my short sword. He staggered back and fell on his ass before looking up at me and stumbled down the stairs after his friends.

_I should've killed him_. I thought. I rubbed the side of my head, trying to calm myself down a little. I was here to kill monsters, not humans, no matter how stupid they were. I had to keep my anger under control at all costs. Those old men obviously wanted me to become angrier, but instead, they were going to get a calm, passive saint. There was no way that I was going to let them get what they wanted.

"Are you alright?" Dante asked.

"Yeah." I said. "My armor stopped anything from happening." I said as I patted the armor plating over my chest. I threw the spear, still in my hands, behind a bush along the nearest wall. Let some random guy find it and deal with it later. As long as Uzu's lackey was defenseless, I didn't care.

"What are we going to do about them?" Dante asked as he pointed out into the plaza towards the Mus.

I looked out and saw the Mus all sitting in a line, still ready to fight. With Dante's range and my agility, we could probably take them out, but still…

"Let them go." I said. "We're even now."

"Are you sure?"

"Get out of here." I told the Mus, rather than answer Dante's question. I just swept my arm in a 'shoo'ing motion across the area as I spoke.

The Mus took the signal as I had hoped they would. They all scampered off into a nearby alleyway, although it looked like the one with the scar gave me a nod before he left.

"Did you know that Mu or something?" Dante asked when the little beasts were out of sight.

"Or something." I told him. I started off down the plaza, keeping an eye out for any more monsters we could kill. Even if I was going to lose to Zidane, I was at least going to give him a challenge. I rubbed my temples, still trying to calm myself down from my thoughts of homicide earlier.

"Are you alright?" Dante asked as he caught up to me. "You seem kind of out of it."

"I'm fine." I said. "Just…aggravated."

"Well, c'mon," Dante said with a grin. "There's still lots of monsters out there."

"Right, right." I said with a smirk.

Twirling my short swords in my hands as I walked, Dante and I approached the winding stairs that led up to the next section of the Industrial District. I let out a breath of frustration as my muscles settled. It was going to be a long day.

"Trevor, look!" Dante said with a point up the stairs. I turned to see what he was pointing at and saw a pack of Fangs at the top of the stairs.

Each Fang was the size of a full grown wolf, and judging by their growling and bared teeth, I assumed that they were twice as vicious. There were five of them in all, with one particularly big one standing at the front of them all. No doubt that one was the leader.

"Take out the big one." I said as I ran to the base of the stairway.

Dante was way ahead of me. He pointed the gun straight ahead at the top of the stairs. The biggest Fang pulled its head back and let out a piercing howl. It was cut short as a sudden _BANG_ ran through the air. The howl was cut off almost instantly, as it fell to the ground in a dead heap. The other Fangs gave their leader a series of concerned looks. They nudged against its fallen form as blood began to seep out of its chest where it was shot. Upon realizing that their leader was dead, the rest of the Fangs turned to look at us, growling even louder and showing even more teeth than before.

"Get ready." I told Dante firmly.

"On it." he said. Although he was behind me, I heard the mechanical clicks of his gun as he removed the old shell and fished around his bullet bag for a new shot.

The Fangs stood their ground at the top of the stairs and I stood mine at the bottom of the stairs. I held my short swords in front of myself defensively, ready for whatever they did.

The only sound that could be heard at first was the sound of the wind blowing across the rooftops. However, that was soon overtaken as I distinctly heard a fight somewhere in the distance. It sounded like whoever was fighting was getting beaten. I heard a scream run through the air. It sounded like someone was trying to scream with a mouthful of blood. Whatever it was, it was definitely human.

"Sounds like someone just got killed." I said solemnly.

"What?" Dante said. I heard a click as he put a new bullet into the chamber. "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you hear that?" I asked, looking back at Dante in confusion. It sounded loud enough that there was no way he could have missed it.

"Front!" Dante yelled, raising his gun in front of himself. I turned back and saw that the Fangs were charging in single file down the stairs right at me. Dante let off a shot and clipped the second Fang in the line in the hind leg, causing a back up on the thin stairway as the shot Fang collapsed. The first Fang still charged forward. I stepped back and got ready to repel its attack.

The first Fang lunged when it got to the bottom of the stairs. I held my short sword straight out in front of myself and managed to skewer the Fang on it. The short sword plunged into the Fang's mouth, piercing various organs and slitting its throat from the inside. The Fang's weight knocked me to the ground as its body fell onto my own. From my back, I raised a foot to the beast's chest and kicked it off. I stood up again, unhurt from the fall, and pulled my short sword out of the Fang's mouth.

I looked and saw the three other Fangs now making their way down the stairs. I barely had enough time to swing a sword to intercept the first one down the stairs. The short sword smashed into its head, cracking its skull under the weight of the blade. It fell harmlessly to the side as it slid by my feet.

As easy as I made my first two kills look, the next Fang caught me by surprise. Before I had a chance to turn back from the second Fang at my feet, a third Fang rushed down the stairs and knocked me on my back. I fell in a spread eagle as the wolf-like monster tried to rip open my chest. If I wasn't wearing the armor Wayne had made for me, I would have definitely been killed.

Without missing a step, I dropped the short sword I had in my left hand and grabbed the Fang by the throat. Time slowed down as I pushed as hard as I could against it and got my feet underneath its stomach. With both feet together, I kicked the Fang as hard as I could. It went flying backwards, though not very far. I thought that I didn't really gain much by doing that, until I saw a bullet bore its way through the Fang's head while it was still in the air, killing it instantly. Time sped back to normal as I looked back and saw Dante ejecting the old cartridge and fishing for a new bullet in his bullet pouch.

I flipped myself on my stomach and pushed myself up in one fluid motion. "Dante! That was awesome!" I more or less yelled. I reached for my short sword and flicked some of the blood off of it before sheathing it.

"Behind you!" Dante said as he still fished around among all of his bullets for a shot. The bullets flowed over the side of the pouch as he hurriedly tried to reload his gun. I looked back and saw the last Fang limping down the stairs. It was the same one that Dante had shot in the hind leg earlier. I held my second short sword in both hands since I didn't have enough time to pull out my first one again. I braced myself for impact as the Fang rush at me.

Prepared as I was, I wasn't ready for what it did. It jumped over the side of the stairs and ran passed me where I couldn't easily get at it, heading right for Dante, who was still trying to reload.

"Dante!" I cried out as I saw that my friend stood defenseless against the oncoming monster. I turned and kicked off the ground as hard as I could, breaking into a mad dash. I ran as hard as I could, determined to protect my comrade with everything that I had. Dante was an engineer, not a fighter. If that Fang jumped on him, he'd have an easy time biting through Dante's neck.

_Kill it._

Fortunately, the Fang's limp made catching up not too difficult. I raised my sword behind my opposite shoulder, ready to strike.

_KILL IT!_

I brought my sword down with deadly accuracy. It cleaved right behind the Fang's shoulder and cut through all the way to its hind leg, sending it sprawling on the ground in pain. Before it could get up again, I brought my sword up and pierced its heart through its rib cage. The Fang made a low gurgling sound while it writhed in pain. Seconds later, it stopped moving and was dead.

"Are you okay?" I asked Dante.

"Yeah." he said, breathing hard out of the sudden shock he had to endure. "Nice save."

"No problem." I told him. Suddenly, my fatigue hit me. I brought my hands to my knees while still holding my short sword. My gaze fell over the dead Fang at my feet as I rested. That's when I noticed something odd happened as the Fang's blood flowed out onto the street. It didn't do anything that I wouldn't have expected it to. It just poured slowly out of the Fang's chest like any normal injury, but I was overly captivated by it. For some reason, I wanted to run my hand through it like it was a river. Images ran through my head out of my control of myself washing my hands in the blood. Somehow, I felt like I could watch it flow out of the Fang's corpse for hours, like my bloodlust had become insatiable.

"Trevor?" Dante said with a shake of my shoulder, waking me from my trance.

"What?" I asked, shaking my head slightly in confusion.

"I said, did you see that shot I made?" Dante asked excitedly. "It went right through the Fang's head! I'm standing, like, twenty feet away!"

"That was awesome." I said with a chuckle. In all truth, Dante had saved my life there. If he didn't kill the Fang when he did, it would have just come back and try to kill me again before I could react.

I gazed down at the Fang's corpse laying at our feet again. I already knew that I would be getting angrier from the injection the old men gave me, but I didn't have an explanation for the fascination for the blood like that. What did they have to gain by making me interested in blood like that? It would only distract me in the long run. I rubbed my temples as a wave of nausea passed through my system.

"You okay?" Dante asked. "You look kinda sick."

"I'm fine." I told him. "I just need a second."

I looked down at my hands. Much to my relief, they weren't covered in blood. I took a deep breath, releasing most of my tension for the moment. I stood straight up, facing the sky with my eyes closed.

"Are we going?" Dante asked from the bottom of the stairs. I slapped myself on the cheek to bring myself back to reality before I walked back towards the stairs.

"Yeah." I answered Dante. "Just let me take point."

"Sure." he said.

I cracked my neck as a final precaution against the image I saw of myself covered in blood. By now, I had used almost every stress relief method I knew. I had to keep my anger under control while around Dante, or else he'd probably end up getting hurt.

While I was walking, a thought occurred to me as I passed Dante on the stairs.

"I just realized," I began, managing to cheer myself up as I spoke. "I'm winning three to two."

"What?" Dante said with a raised eyebrow.

"I have three kills and you have two." I said as I pointed to the bodies spread around on the ground below us. Dante nodded in acknowledgment.

"Fine, but I'm not here for competition." Dante argued. "You go ahead and fight like that, but I just want to test this out." he said as he held up his gun.

"Whatever dude." I said nonchalantly. I twirled my short sword in my hand as I walked up the stairs.

The air was heavy for some reason. Something was going to happen. I just had a bad feeling from everything. That's when I remembered the blood coated scream from earlier.

"So you really didn't hear that scream before we started fighting the Fangs?" I asked Dante, not bothering to look back.

"Hmm?" he said, unsure of what I was talking about at first. Then he remembered. "Oh, that. No, I didn't hear anything."

"That's really weird." I said. "I heard it no problem."

"Maybe you're going crazy." Dante suggested with a laugh.

I just rolled my eyes at his jest. "Hmm." I said as I put my hand to my chin in mock thought. "I'm going crazy and I've spent the last few days hanging around you. I think there's a connection."

"Screw you."

I laughed, genuinely glad for once that day. Dante joined me in laughing a bit. He really was a good person. I'd really have to make sure I kept him alive so that we could talk about this whole thing one day after I saved existance with Zidane and the others. As the laughter died down, we neared the first Fang that Dante had taken out at the top of the stairs. It laid in a puddle of blood with a hole in its side.

"Pretty big mess you made here." I commented.

"At least we didn't have to deal with him with the rest of the Fangs on the stairs there."

"True."

As I was about to say more, a low growl settled through the air. I looked around trying to find where it had come from, when I realized that it was coming from my feet. I looked down and saw the Fang growling at Dante and me in hatred.

"It's still alive?" Dante asked, amazed that something like a Fang could survive a shot through the lung like that.

I couldn't help but pity the Fang. The poor thing's friends had all gone off, thinking he was dead, and they just got slaughtered before his eyes. I don't know why I was feeling pity for something that I was trying to kill a few minutes ago.

I reversed my grip on my short sword and raised it over my head. Without saying a word, I plunged the blade into the Fang's chest, piercing its heart and lungs. It felt soft, as if I was cutting through a cake. The Fang struggled for a few seconds before settling down and dying. I let out a breath to relieve the tension building in my head. I was going to have to see a psychiatrist sooner or later before my emotions killed me.

"Well, I guess it's four to one now." Dante said meekly, trying to break up the thick anxiety hanging over us. I stood in silence, unsure why I felt the way I did. I flicked the blood off of my sword and sheathed it.

Crying over something I was supposed to be trying to kill was pointless anyway. My stupid sympathy was getting in the way. I knew that this wouldn't happen again. I'd just kill the rest of the beasts quicker. That way, they wouldn't feel any pain and I wouldn't have to put up with feeling sad for them.

_Sympathy is for the weak._

I gripped my head by the sides. My head felt like it was going to split itself open down the middle. I clenched my eyes tight in pain, falling to my knees as the headache pulsed like an air bubble about to explode.

"Trevor!" Dante called out. "Are you alright?"

Just then, as suddenly as it had come, my headache died down. I opened my eyes and stood up, rubbing my temple. "I'm fine." I lied. Whatever was wrong with me was getting worse exponentially. Fortunately, it wasn't so bad that I couldn't control it.

"If you say so."

"Don't worry about it." I said as I started to walk away down the street. "We need to hurry and find more monsters to fight."

"Right." Dante said. He followed beside me as we kept our eyes open for more beasts.

We walked in silence for a minute before Dante decided to speak again. "So what's it like dual wielding short swords?" he asked lightly.

I raised an eyebrow as he asked. It seemed like an unusual question, but I just assumed he was trying to start a conversation.

"Pretty cool." I answered, my own mood lightening along with him. "It's fun knowing that you're an unstoppable blade wielding maniac when you have two swords."

"But how do you use them?"

I held my head back as I thought of an answer. My fighting style was always there, wild and frantic, but controlled enough for me to be considered talented. Although I wasn't exactly sure how to put it, the best answer I could come up with was, "Instinct."

"Instinct?" Dante said skeptically. "You mean you were born to be a dual wielding fighter?"

"Any bladed weapon really." I said. Although I was best with swords, I could still hold my own better than most people could when we first started using a weapon. I knew it was true because we had thirty-five members in Sword Club before I was sucked into Gaia and I learned how to fight faster than any of them. It wasn't with just swords, but even with the maces, axes and pole arms we sometimes used in Sword Club. Whenever we picked fighters for team battles, I was always one of the first people chosen, if not _the_ first. It was a point I liked to pride myself on quite a bit.

"What about you?" I asked. "What's it like using a gun?"

Dante stopped walking. He pulled his gun out of its sheath and held it in front of him in both hands.

"It's pretty tense actually." Dante said. That wasn't the answer I expected, but I paid attention as he spoke. "I have only one shot to use before I have to reload, so I have to make it count. Reloading can take a while and if I'm not careful, I'll end up getting killed." Dante put his gun back in its holster and he started walking again. "If you hadn't saved me from that Fang back there, I probably would have died."

I smirked as he spoke. It felt good having someone thank me for saving his life. I knew that throughout the rest of the story, I was going to hear that a lot more from time to time.

"So what district are we going after here?" Dante asked as we continued down the street. "You have a plan, don't you?"

"We're going to the Theatre District next." I said, pushing for a sensation of militarism. My voice was deep as I spoke my thought out plan. "We'll need time to go through the Business District later and I want us to hit one district before then."

"Why are we going to the Business District last?"

I knew that the Zaghnol was going to show up there and I wanted to kill it before it could do any damage. Also, it would be a great test of my skill. If I killed it, Zidane would have less reason to leave me behind when the decision to leave for Burmecia later came about. But I couldn't let Dante know all that.

"Because it's the biggest place in all of Lindblum." I explained as I turned to look at him. "Out of all the districts in Lindblum, it has the best chance of still having some monsters left by the end, so it's the best place to save for last. If we go somewhere else to a smaller district, the monsters will almost definitely be gone."

Dante nodded in understanding. "That makes sense."

"Doesn't it?" I said. I turned back to look down the street and saw a large wooden wall blocking the path. "What the…?"

The wall was made of thick wooden planks raised ten feet off of the ground; just enough to keep a monster from roaming the wrong parts of town. Of course, that did nothing against the Trick Sparrows since they could fly or any of the Fangs and Mus who could break into people's houses and walk passed the road block that way. Sometimes, it seemed incredible that the Festival didn't have more casualties.

"Let's head back to the air cab terminal." I suggested.

"Good idea." Dante agreed.

We turned and headed back down the narrow street. It wasn't long before we were by the stairs where the Fangs had been killed. They had all lost even more blood and now rested in their own puddles of the stuff. It really was a pretty nasty sight to behold.

"We made a pretty big mess here, didn't we?" I joked.

"The clean up crew will hate us." Dante said back. I chuckled at his comment.

I gazed out, taking in all the destruction before us, somewhat surprised that I was able to cause so much chaos. Even though there were only five Fangs, it was still pretty gruesome to see.

As I looked out upon the Fangs, my pulse increased. Images of bloodied battlefields filled my mind. I couldn't control the grin that grew across my face. I covered my mouth with my right hand as I began chuckling. I silently shook as I tried my best to keep my laughter as silent as I could. However, Dante noticed soon after I began.

"Are you alright?" Dante asked.

I waved my hand at the side of my head, waving his question away. "I'm fine." I struggled to say as the laughter ate away at my sanity. I took a few deep breaths in and held them for a few seconds. Eventually, the laughter died and I went back to normal. "Okay. I'm done." I started walking down the stairs with Dante in close pursuit.

"You've been acting pretty weird ever since we started fighting today." Dante commented.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You said you heard someone screaming earlier, you were staring off mindlessly into a puddle of blood, and now you're having laughing fits." Dante walked beside me and I pulled my hair behind my head as he spoke. "What's wrong with you?"

"You know," I began, stopping in place for theatric effect. "I've lost count of how many people have asked me that." I could be so overdramatic at times.

It seemed that every time I had a problem of some kind, I had to study myself until I found out why I was the way I was. Usually, the sources led back to events from my childhood or early teen years. Considering how messed up they were at times, I was bound to have at least a few problems.

"Don't worry about me." I told Dante. "My problems are my problems. I can deal with them."

"If you say so." Dante said with a hint of disbelief.

I turned around and walked towards the entrance to the terminal, signaling for Dante to follow. "You coming or what?" I asked without turning around. I heard him run up behind me as I walked silently, still caught up in what I had just seen.

Neither of us said anything as we walked down into the stairs to the air cabs.

Somewhere in the back of my head, I heard a part of me still laughing.

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Now, I was originally going to make this all one big chapter, but due to my idiot laptop and the fact that I didn't want to keep you all waiting, I decided to post these in chunks. So, now I'll get to work finishing the next chapter. It's already half way done, so I should be able to get it out soon enough. As always, reviews help me write faster.


	16. Festival of the Hunt Part 2

Disclaimer- I don't own the characters in this story, except for Trevor and Dante.

Author's note: there. A nice early update. Although I'm sorry to say that I won't be able to update this quickly all the time. I just started writing this because my laptop died and I wanted to have something to write while I waited for it to come back from the repair shop. But enough about that. Enjoy the next part in the Festival of the Hunt!

Chapter 16- Festival of the Hunt Part 2- The Theatre District.

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The air ship we were riding in landed in the Theatre District with a sudden halt. Dante and I rocketed forward in our seats at the unexpected stop. If it weren't for the seat belts we were wearing, we would have gone flying through the front windshield.

"Theatre District." the driver said. Then, as a joke, he added, "Last stop."

I just undid the seat belt and jumped out of my seat. The door slid open and I half leapt, half fell out of the air cab. Dante stumbled out right after me.

"I hate those kinds of drivers." Dante muttered as we walked through the air cab terminal.

"The ones who drive like they were on fire?" I asked. The ride over here involved more sickening twist and turns than a ship at sea in the middle of a fierce storm. I clutched my stomach as I tried to keep my breakfast from spreading all over the terminal floor.

"Yeah." Dante said. He rubbed his neck, obviously trying to subdue the headache that was trying to rip itself out of his head. I knew how he felt since my head was killing me too. My head hit the sides of the air cab so many times that I lost count after a few seconds. Now, my head was trying to commit seppuku while still in my skull.

When we entered the air cab terminal in the Industrial District, there was only one driver around. He was obviously an overly jovial type of person, since he was overtaken in the excitement of getting to drive around during the Festival however he wanted. Needless to say, I had been on roller coaster rides that were slower and more controlled than that.

The sun greeted us as we exited to the streets. The street to our left led deeper into town. I could see a plaza around the corner of one of the buildings that looked a lot like the main plaza back in the Business District. I didn't know what was back there, but Dante and I had barely enough time to cover the three districts as it was. We could only attack the places I knew about and had already planned out.

"Where to now?" Dante asked from behind me.

"To the right." I said, looking in the same direction. There was an overhang looking out over the city just beyond the railing along the street. I walked up to it to get a feel for how high up we were. To my astonishment, we were about 100 feet above the streets below us. The Theatre District was built on a plateau overlooking the rest of the city. The only point in town higher than here was the Grand Castle in the distance. It was a good thing I wasn't acrophobic. Not _very_ acrophobic at least.

"I see something." Dante said.

"What?"

Dante pointed down the short, winding street to a small courtyard at the bottom of a flight of stairs nearby. A bunch of Trick Sparrows were resting there, each with a two-foot wingspan. I counted six of them. They were all preening their feathers in the middle of the square.

"Think we can take them?" Dante asked.

I felt the adrenaline flow through my veins as I thought about a frantic, uncontrolled battle with the birds down the street. Blades and beaks flying everywhere. I grinned weirdly in anticipation.

"Yeah." I said. "No problem."

Dante nodded in understanding and held his gun low to the ground and ran ahead. I held my short swords backwards as I followed Dante along the small path. Within seconds, we were overlooking the flock of birds from the top of the stairs. They apparently didn't notice us, or they didn't consider us much of a threat. Either way, there were going to be a lot of bloody feathers here in a few minutes.

"Just like before?" Dante asked, referring to what our strategy would be.

"Yeah," I told him. "Just like before."

Dante kneeled down to steady himself for the first shot. Once that went off, I'd rush down and take out as many Trick Sparrows as I could before they retaliated and attacked Dante.

Dante aimed down the sight…

_Click._

A loud snap sounded through the air, much unlike the usual _Bang_ of a gun. A worried look spread over Dante's face as he held the gun in front of himself. The Trick Sparrows looked up and saw the two of us at the top of the staircase. They stared back as Dante fumbled with his gun.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked. I walked down a few steps, keeping myself out of the way of Dante's line of fire, in order to keep myself between Dante and the beasts in front of us.

"The gun's jammed!" Dante said, alarmed.

A loud "Caw!" came from the courtyard. Suddenly, as if they understood Dante's plight, the Trick Sparrows all stopped what they were doing and spread open their wings. They flapped hard and took off into the air, circling above the small plaza in an attack pattern. It didn't matter whether or not they saw us as a threat now. Given their fierce nature, I was able to guess that Trick Sparrows were territorial, so, given our current predicament, they saw us as vulnerable intruders.

"Dante! Let's go!" I called as I ran down the stairs. I skipped steps as I ran to cut down time and jumped the last few steps, looking around to get a better feel for my surroundings. That's when I noticed that Dante was still at the top of the stairs.

"Dante!" I called out. "Come on!"

"But we should get out of here!" he called back.

"Trust me!"

I saw a look of doubt in Dante's expression for a second. He looked up at the Trick Sparrows still circling in the air, then looked back at me with a more determined look. He jumped up and dashed down the stairs the same way that I did, keeping his eyes on the birds above. He stumbled a little when he reached the bottom of the stairs, but kept on running without falling over. He turned around and kept his gaze upwards when he reached me. We stood back to back as the Trick Sparrows flew overhead.

"This looks pretty bad." Dante said.

"Yup." I said, concentrating more on the birds. As long as they were up there and Dante's gun was jammed, there was nothing we could do. That's when it hit me…

"Dante, you don't know any magic, do you?"

"Magic?" he asked.

"Yeah, like fireballs or lightning." I said. "Anything that could reach them up there." I said with a short sword pointing up.

"No." he said with a disappointed tone. "I concentrate entirely on technology for my fighting."

_Dammit!_ I thought to myself. "Then fix that gun." I said. "I don't stand a chance against these things when they're up that high."

"Right." Dante said. I heard metallic clicks as Dante went to work fixing his weapon.

Up above, the Trick Sparrows were apparently getting tired of circling around us. One of the birds became too impatient and swooped down to attack. I knew that I saw me as somewhat of a threat, what with my battle stance and my short swords, but Dante was clearly distracted, concentrating more on his gun than anything else. The Trick Sparrow sped up to attack and brought its talons out in front. It prepared to rake its claws against Dante's unprotected head, but it was caught of guard as I brought a sword over in a backhanded swing. The blow knocked the bird down to the cobbled ground and onto its back. It wasn't enough to kill it, but it was definitely stunned.

Not missing a beat, I jumped up and landed on its wings, preventing any sort of escape. I reversed the grip of my right sword and brought it down into the Trick Sparrows rib cage. There was a short spurt of blood seeping at the sides of the wound as its heart collapsed inside its chest. Since that was enough to kill it, I got up and ran back to Dante's side.

"Is it fixed yet?" I asked.

"Almost." Dante said. He managed to open the chamber and eject the bullet. It fell to the ground and Dante pulled out a new one from the bullet pouch at his side. He inserted it into the chamber and closed the gun, holding it triumphantly into the air. "Got it!" he said.

Just then, a pair of Trick Sparrows soared to the ground. One aimed for Dante while the other aimed for me.

"Get ready." I said. Dante aimed at the bird heading for him while I defended myself against the one heading for me.

The Trick Sparrow that headed for me flew right at my head. It was probably trying to peck my eyes out, but no matter. As soon as it came close, it beat its wings against the ground, keeping itself from falling by hovering in place. It brought its talons out, prepared to rake them against my face. The main problem with this tactic was that it left itself fully exposed, a weakness with I quickly took advantage of. I raised one short sword above my head and brought it down on the bird's head. As it fell, I reversed the grip of my other hand and brought the short sword down into the Trick Sparrow's gut, driving the blade into the bird's chest as it hit the ground. Blood instantly formed around the wound as I held the short sword in place, insuring the Trick Sparrow's death. After it fluttered its wings for a few moments, it stopped, dying with one final drawn out 'Caw!'.

Dante's bird went out much faster. It swooped down to rake its talons against his face too, but Dante just shot it in the chest as soon as the Trick Sparrow slowed down. It was dead before it hit the ground. I jumped backwards so that Dante and I stood back to back again when our attacks were finished.

"Three down." Dante said as ejected the shell from his old bullet.

"Three left." I said, steadying my short swords in front of me.

The three Trick Sparrows left soared overhead, still flying in a circle. Dante loaded a new bullet into his gun and I re-gripped my short swords. As the birds flew, they began separating themselves into groups. One bird flew alone while the other two stuck together. They flew opposite each other in the circle. It became apparent that they intended to attack us with some plan they had.

"What are they doing?" Dante asked. He inserted a new bullet into his gun, but with the way they were flying, there was no way he could expect to hit them. We just had to be patient and let them come down to us.

"They're probably going to swoop in and attack in two groups." I said. I tightened my grips on my short swords. Whenever they decided to attack, I was going to have to have split second reflexes.

"I'll take the one." Dante said, indicating the Trick Sparrow that was flying alone.

"Then I'll take the others." I added. It made perfect sense to divide them like that. With Dante's one shot and my two short swords, it was our best shot at finishing them off quickly and efficiently.

Suddenly, one of the Trick Sparrows let out a loud 'Caw!" and they all stopped flying and held themselves in place in mid air. As soon as they did, I noticed that Dante and I had a problem. The one bird was hovering over me and the two others were preparing to attack Dante. They could probably change places with each other as soon as Dante and I switched places, so trying to do that was futile.

"Trevor-" Dante said.

"I know." I told him. "I have a plan. Just stand still until I tell you to turn around."

"Alright." Dante said. It sounded like he was pretty tense. Since he had only one shot and several enemies ready to attack, it was pretty understandable. Honestly, I was a little nervous too, but I kept that suppressed so that I could concentrate on fighting.

With another "Caw!", the Trick Sparrows began their assault. They all swooped down at us at once. With only seconds to act, I put my plan into action.

I ran out a few feet, getting enough room for a good jump. I skidded to a halt and turned back towards Dante. I ran as fast as I could and jumped when I was close enough. I put one foot on Dante's back as I jumped, helping my ascent by using him as a springboard.

"Now!" I yelled down to Dante as soon as my foot was clear of his back. I flew into the air a short distance before meeting the two Trick Sparrows before they got to Dante. I raised my short swords behind my shoulders and brought them down with everything I had. I landed both blows directly on top of their heads, bringing them crashing down to the pavement as I landed. Their heads bled profusely, indicating that their skulls had been cracked open and the birds were already dead.

Meanwhile, Dante had swung around right after I jumped off of his back. Without needing to be told anything, he brought his gun up and aimed it right at the final Trick Sparrow's chest. The last bird, seeing that its comrades were already defeated, stopped its attack and turned to fly away to safety, but Dante already had it covered. He shot right as the Trick Sparrow turned to leave, sending a bullet right into the bird's back and out through its chest. The Trick Sparrow cried out in pain as it fell over the guardrail at the ends of the plaza, sending it falling through the air to the ground more than a hundred feet below.

I stood up as soon as I heard the shot. I only got to see the Trick Sparrow as it fell over the railing. "Nice shot." I said as I flicked more blood off of my short swords.

Dante turned around and saw the job I had done on the other two birds. "Not too bad yourself." he said.

I quickly scanned the area that we had just fought in. As I had predicted, there was now a messy collection of bloody feathers lying everywhere.

As a precaution, I held my breath, hoping that I wasn't going to start another uncontrolled laughing fit. It seemed like I always had better perception when I held my breath. It calmed me down. After a few seconds I realized that, much to my relief, I had managed to keep my sanity this time. Calming thoughts ran through my head, rather than ones of carnage and destruction. Apparently, I was gaining some control over my anger. Those old guys were going to be pissed when they found out that their plan didn't work. It sounded like good news to me.

"I think we're done here." Dante said. He holstered his gun and started back to the stairs. I stopped holding my breath as I started walking to catch up to him.

"You alright?" Dante asked as we walked.

I nodded in response. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Alright. You just seemed a little nervous for a moment there."

I waved a hand to dismiss his concerns. "Like I said, I'm fine. Now let's head out to the Business District."

Dante raised an eyebrow as he turned to me. "Already?" he asked. "But we just landed here."

"And there isn't much left here." I said. "We should get to the Business District as soon as we can. It should be like a war zone there by now." The Business District was always the most crowded with monsters. Dante and I would probably have to go through two or three fights before we got to the first plaza. "It's the perfect place to test your marksmanship."

"I'm more interested in testing my gun."

"Whatever. Let's just go."

We took three steps from the top of the stairs before we saw a sight even more unpleasant than the blood, broken bones and dead birds that we had just seen in the last plaza.

Uzu.

"Well, well." he said, gripping his claymore while it was still on his back. "It's you two again."

I didn't feel like dealing with Uzu again. I had already had more than enough of him while in the Industrial District, so I just used the best weapon that I could on him. Sarcasm.

"Dante look!" I cried excitedly, pointing at Uzu. "It's the only guy in town afraid of fuzzy blue squirrels!" Dante stifled a laugh.

"Shut up!" Uzu yelled, his face going red in an instant. "I didn't see you try to fight them!"

"That's because you were too busy running in the other direction." I said with a smug grin.

"You son of a bitch!" Uzu said dangerously. "I ought to kill you!" When he was finished with his threat, he pulled his claymore off of his back and pointed it at me.

Uzu was big and slow, so with my speed and agility, I could probably beat him in a fight. I unsheathed my short swords and held them defensively in front of myself. If Uzu wanted to fight, I wasn't about to back down. Uzu's lackeys hid behind him. I knew one didn't have a weapon since I got rid of it, but the other one still had a dagger with him. I had almost every advantage over him with my short swords. Still, I would have more of an advantage if Dante got in the fight.

"Dante," I said. "Think you can give me a hand here?"

After I didn't get a response from him after a few seconds, I turned back and saw him gazing up into the clouds. "Dante?"

"Trevor," he said in a quiet, serious tone. "Get back."

"Why?" I said as I looked up where he was looking and saw a flock of Trick Sparrows flying in over the next row of buildings. The flock was even bigger than the flock Dante and I just took out. There had to be twenty at least. With the sheer number they had, along with the fact that they were out hunting, we didn't have a chance against them.

"Hey Dante. Wanna hide somewhere?" I asked hurriedly.

"Sounds good." he said just as quickly. "Where?"

I looked over to my left and saw the entrance to the Tantalus building. Nothing was blocking the doorway, so Dante and I could run in and hide out as long as we had to. From my angle, I could see doors hanging in the doorframe, which was important since we'd need them to keep the birds out.

"In here." I said, grabbing his arm just enough to turn him in the right direction as I ran past him. We both ran the short distance to the Tantalus hideout, throwing the doors behind us as we got in. We pressed ourselves against the doors to ensure that the Trick Sparrows wouldn't be able to attack us. Otherwise, they could just fly in through the open doorway and rip us apart.

"Where the hell are you going?" yelled an angry Uzu from the other side of the door. "Get back here and fight you cowards!"

I looked at Dante as we both held the doors shut. "He doesn't know about the sparrows, does he?"

Dante shook his head. "I don't think so."

Feeling compassionate, I decided to give Uzu a slight warning. I turned my head to the nearby window to my right and yelled out of it while holding the door shut.

"Uzu! You might want to find some place to hide!"

"What are you talking about?" he yelled back.

Suddenly, there was a series of screams that ran through the air, followed shortly by a series of 'squawks' and 'caws'. The screaming got quieter over a matter of seconds. The cries from the Trick Sparrows died down as well. After a few seconds, I decided to say something.

"You think he's dead?"

Dante raised an eyebrow at me. "We could only hope." he said sarcastically.

The door cracked open slightly as Dante and I pulled them open to get a better grasp on what had happened. We both stuck our heads out of the doorframe and gazed out at the streets. Outside, there was nothing left of the fight that had occurred. Uzu and his lackeys had run off and the Trick Sparrows either chased after them or flew somewhere else. The only sign that anything might have happened was a small dagger that Uzu's lackey must have dropped as well as feathers scattered everywhere. Now, Uzu was the only one of his group who was still armed.

"He ran again." Dante said. He exaggerated his motions as he rolled his eyes.

"He seems to do that a lot."

"You're right. He does." Dante said, laughing as he spoke.

I stepped out of the building and took a look around. The Trick Sparrows were definitely gone. Now was our best chance to get out of the area. Chances were that they were all going to stay together, meaning Dante and I didn't have much of a chance if we stuck around and fought them.

I signaled for Dante to follow after I was done checking the area to make sure it was clear. "Let's get out of here." I said. Dante nodded and stepped out of the building as well.

We hurried down the street, looking around and keeping a lookout for any more monsters. We didn't need to get ambushed like Uzu was.

We rounded the corner with no problems. The Trick Sparrows were nowhere in sight and there didn't appear to be any other beasts, birds, or fuzzy blue squirrels nearby.

"We're going to the Business District next, right?" Dante asked.

"Yup." I said. As I started planning out our route through the several plazas in the Business Districts, a problem suddenly came to me. "Dante, do you have any idea how much time is left?"

Dante pressed a finger to his temple in thought. He stood in silence for a few seconds before finally answering. "Considering how long the flight times are for the air cabs, I'd say we should have about forty minutes left once we land in the Business District."

"Alright then." I said, turning and walking to the air cab terminal. "Let's go."

"Right behind y-"

I turned back when I heard Dante get caught off. To my horror, a Fang was standing on top of his chest and was busy clawing its way through his shirt down to his armor. The beast bit onto Dante's shoulder as a holding point as it attacked. If it wasn't for all of his armor, Dante would have been screaming his head off in pain by now.

"Trevor! Help!" Dante yelled. With his gun holstered behind him and him laying on his back, he had no way to defend himself.

I could only watch in subtle horror as I saw the red of Dante's armor reveal more and more. It was far too similar to blood. "…No."

"Trevor!" Dante yelled with his arm stretched out at me, eyes full of fear. It was pitiful seeing him like that. Within a few seconds, his armor would fall apart and the Fang would start ripping his chest open.

"Stop it." I said so quietly even I had trouble hearing it. I could only hold on to the sides of my head as another headache coursed its way through my mind.

"Stop it." I told the Fang again. This time it was loud enough for the monster to hear. However, much to my anger, the Fang ignored me and just kept attacking.

I felt my rage well up in the pit of my stomach. It ran through my veins and reinforced itself in my arms and legs. I felt my lips pull back in a low growl. I looked at the Fang attacking my helpless friend with bloodlust in my eyes.

I ripped out a short sword and broke into a charge at the monster. "STOP IT!" I yelled as I ran. The Fang looked up at the last second and my foot connected with its jaw in the strongest kick that I could manage. The Fang flew off of Dante and rolled to its side. Dante backed away and stood on the far side of the street. With him out of harm's way, I could really cut loose.

The Fang stood up again, but I rushed over to it and smashed its head in with one fury-powered blow. The beast looked up at me with dying eyes, realizing its mistake at the last moment. I raised my short sword up and began to crush its head in with each blow I landed. I pulled my second short sword out and began to slam them down on the Fang like they were a pair of overly large drumsticks. I crashed them onto the Fang, letting my anger push me along even farther. Bloody wounds and messy welts formed everywhere over its body. The Fang was long since dead, but I didn't care. It tried to hurt Dante and it didn't stop when I told it to. As illogical as that was, my mindset didn't care. It wasn't set for logic.

I continued my onslaught until I felt a hand grab my shoulder. I turned around, ready to stab whatever was foolish to attack me, when I saw Dante's concerned face looking down at me.

"Trevor?" he said cautiously. "Are you alright?"

I dropped my short swords to the ground and gripped the sides of my head again. I felt the anger flow out of my limbs and hide again in my chest. My breaths came out quick and labored as my pulse raced at three beats a second. I held myself close to the ground, facing away from the mess that I had turned the Fang into. After I was sure that my rage was gone again, I looked up at Dante. He held his arm out to help me up. I took it and stood up, albeit shakily.

Dante helped support me by grabbing my other shoulder with his other hand. I looked and saw that only the left sleeve and back of his shirt were really in tact. His right sleeve had a huge bite mark taken out of it and was barely hanging on by only a few strands of cloth. The front of his shirt was shredded to bits.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"…Are you?" I finally said.

"I have armor on. I'm fine." Dante let go of me and let me stand on my own. It was tricky with my mind coming back to normal after what I had just been through, but I managed to support myself just fine. "What was that?" Dante asked. "You just went berserk."

I didn't know why I went crazy like that. It seemed that every time I fought something today, my condition got a little worse. Unfortunately, my pride wouldn't let me quit this early on. Especially not when I was doing so well. I had killed five Fangs and four Trick Sparrows. If I remembered correctly, that gave me about 140 points. The rather than the points depending on the monster's size, they were given out based on what the monsters were. Fangs were twenty points each and Trick Sparrows were ten points each. I was willing to bet that even Zidane didn't have that many points.

"Maybe we should forfeit." Dante suggested. "I'm beginning to think that you need a doctor."

"I'm fine." I told him. I would just talk to someone later and get my problems off my chest that way, like a therapy session. It was just about the only thing I could do about my anger anymore. It was a last resort for me, but it was effective.

"I'm not sure if you are Trevor." Dante said with a concerned tone. "You went a little extreme with that Fang just now."

"It's nothing." I said. I picked up my short swords from the ground and sheathed them, not bothering to flick any of the blood off. "We need to get an air cab. Let's go." As I spoke, I walked passed him and into the air cab terminal.

I remembered why I had beaten the Fang to the extent that I did as I walked. When I saw Dante getting attacked, it looked like something out of a nightmare. The red armor looked too much like blood. That, combined with his screams for help, sent me over the edge. I didn't like seeing my friends get hurt, especially not with the amount of danger there was out here in the Festival of the Hunt.

Dante didn't say anything else as we walked into the air cab terminal. I let out a deep breath to calm myself again. I knew that if I was going to beat the old men that did this to me, I was going to have to have a lot more control. Fortunately, I was more than persistent enough to win. I wasn't going to let anything else happen to me. Not anytime soon at least.

There were three air cabs in the terminal now. Fortunately, the one Dante and I came in on wasn't among them. Since he was gone, there was no chance that we would have to ride with him again, so there would be no excruciating headaches for us! My head still hurt from the ride over here. Maybe Uzu took it on his way out of here.

We climbed into an air cab and got into our seats. "Where to guys?" the driver asked us.

"Business District." I answered simply. I was still a little worn out from the scene with Dante and that Fang earlier.

"You got it." The driver said. The door to the air cab closed and the engines started up. With a slight roar, the engines lifted us off the ground and propelled us forward into the sky.

Dante sat to my right and examined what was left of his shirt.

"You alright?" I asked.

Dante looked up for a moment before returning to his shirt. "I'm fine, but I need to go shopping for a new shirt as soon as this is done."

Since the chest and side parts of his shirt were where the damage was, it almost looked like Dante was wearing a toga. I laughed to myself since Dante didn't seem like the type of person who would even go to a toga party.

"What?" Dante asked as soon as he realized that I was laughing.

I tried to wave his question away, but he didn't look away, so I felt obligated to answer him. "It's nothing." I said. "I just feel better now."

"Really? That's good."

I was definitely feeling better. Now that my anger was gone, it was probably going to stay gone. I've felt this way before, and every time my anger left me like this, I spent the rest of the day calmly relaxing. I wasn't really going to be doing any relaxing in the immediate future, but I was sure that I was going to be calm enough for the rest of the day.

Suddenly, the air cab lurched to the side, as if something had run into it.

"What was that?" I asked the driver suddenly.

"I don't know!" he answered, trying to get the air cab back under control. "Something must have hit us."

"Trevor!" Dante called out. "Behind us!"

I looked back and saw the flock of twenty Trick Sparrows in close pursuit of our air cab. One by one, they tried to run into the side or the back of the air cab, each hit damaging the air cab further and further. We could only look on helplessly as the Trick Sparrows continued their attack.

"Oh shit…"

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There. Chapter 16 and it's up early. You know you want to review now, don't you? Do it. Do it!


	17. Festival of the Hunt Part 3

Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story. GET OFF MY BACK ALREADY!!!

Author's note: I just wanted to put this here. The chapter seems kind of empty if there's no author note, you know?

Chapter 17- The Festival of the Hunt Part 3- The Business District.

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"Can't you go any faster!?!" I yelled over the already overdriven engines.

"If we do, the chassis will fall apart!" the driver yelled back.

"Dammit! Dante, shoot them!"

"Not with this glass in the way." the engineer said. "It's too cracked and I can't see, so I can't get a clear shot."

"Dammit!"

Ever since we left the terminal in the Theatre District, things had been going downhill. A huge flock of Trick Sparrows was following us, the driver of the air cab didn't want to go any faster since the ship would fall apart if we did, and the back window was too cracked to see through so Dante couldn't get a clear shot, yet it was forced into place so we couldn't pry it loose. All in all, it would be amazing if we landed in one piece.

"Can we get these windows open?" Dante asked the driver.

"No." the driver said as he dodged another Trick Sparrow. "They're sealed for safety reasons."

"We need them open!" I said in an irritated tone. "How is this safe?"

"I didn't build this thing! I just drive it!"

"Dammit!" I looked around and tried to come up with a plan. We were stuck in an air cab with no way to attack the birds assaulting us since Dante couldn't get a clear shot. Meanwhile, the birds were ramming into us and it was only a matter of time before the air cab fell apart and we fell to our deaths. In other words, we were screwed.

As I looked around, I began to notice something about the windows. Although the windows on the back were reinforced with wire to keep them in place, the windows at the sides of the air cab were only held in place at the seams. If that was truly the case, then we had a way to attack.

"Hey," I said, getting the driver's attention. "Keep us as steady as you can."

I saw the driver raise his eyebrow as he kept driving. "What are you going to do?"

I pulled out one of my short swords as I answered him. "I'm gonna give Dante here an opening to attack."

My short sword cleared its sheath, which wasn't easy in the tight space that was the air cab. I held it out in front of myself as I prepared to stab the window. Once it was gone, Dante could lean out of the window and shoot down as many Trick Sparrows as he wanted.

With a grunt, I thrust the short sword forward into the window. It sank deep into the pane of glass. Cracks began to form around the edges where the short sword had hit. I moved the sword around in its place, but made little progress. Unfortunately, the window was multi-layered, so breaking it was going to be harder than I thought.

"How thick are these windows?" I asked the driver as I tried to break more of the glass away.

"About a centimeter thick." the driver said. "But they're specially reinforced from the inside. It all presses against itself and keeps the whole thing in place. That way, if there's a crack, the whole window doesn't fall out on the streets during flight."

I understood why the windows were designed like that. If some of the glass broke, someone down below the air cab could get hurt if glass started raining down on them. Still, it didn't help that we needed it to break in order to save ourselves. I tore away at the window pane as best I could, gritting my teeth in frustration.

"Dammit! Break!" I called out at the window.

As I yelled, I felt a wave of energy run from my chest and into my arm. It traveled down my arm and into my short sword. It pulsed as it reached the tip of the blade, spreading out to the rest of the window within the fraction of a second. I simply watched as the glass shattered into tiny pieces. The pieces all broke free of each other and fell out the window to the ground below. When it was done, the window frame was completely clear of glass.

"How did you-" Dante began.

"No time." I told him. "Lean out the window and shoot."

"Um… right." Dante said nervously. He brought his gun out of the window and brought enough of his arms and head out so that he could aim. He stuck his head out and aimed down the sight.

"Aim for the closest enemy." I told him.

Dante held himself in place in the windowsill and aimed out the window. A second later, there was a loud crack as Dante fired at the Trick Sparrows. A wave of joy washed over me as one of them fell after getting shot in the lung. Dante pulled himself in and ejected the bullet and reloaded.

"Good shot." I told him. "Think you can do that again?"

"I can do that a hundred more times." he said. He pulled the chamber back on his gun, setting the new bullet in place.

Dante grabbed the lip of the windowsill again and leaned out once more. As another Trick Sparrow swooped in to ram into the air cab, it was cut off as Dante blasted a shot through its head, killing it instantly. It fell in mid swoop in an arc, almost like it was still in control of what it was doing.

Dante pulled himself back into the air cab. He ejected the old bullet and fished in his bullet pouch for a new one.

One of the birds ran into the air cab again. We all lurched forward as the shock of the attack ran through the ship, only to be pulled back into our seats as the driver righted the air cab.

"Persistent, aren't they?" I joked.

"So am I." Dante said as he inserted a new bullet.

I looked back through what little of the back windshield that I could. Several of the Trick Sparrows had fallen back, following only so that they wouldn't lose track of the other birds. There was no way we could take them all out before we landed. The next terminal was already visible in the distance. We would land soon. If we didn't do something to get rid of the rest of these things, we were going to have a _very_ difficult fight as soon as we landed.

"We'll be landing in a minute." the driver yelled back.

Neither Dante nor I said anything as Dante leaned out the window again and took aim. He was hanging out by his waist, full of confidence as he prepared to fire again. Unfortunately, there was no way he could have seen the Trick Sparrow that snuck up on the other side of the ship.

I looked to my left, away from Dante, and saw a Trick Sparrow just a few feet away from the side of the air cab. My eyes widened as the bird swung away and veered towards us to attack.

"Dante!" I yelled. "Get back in the air cab!"

"What?" he called back.

With nothing stopping it, the Trick Sparrow swooped in against the air cab's top and knocked it over to its right side. I could only hang on as the ship tilted, sending Dante further out the window. He scrambled to hang onto something as he fell out to his knees. His knees bent reflexively as he held onto the doorframe for dear life.

"Hang on Dante!" I called, not sure if he could hear me. The driver righted the air cab again and I lunged across the air cab, grabbing onto Dante's feet to stop him from falling any further than he already had.

"Keep the air cab completely stable." I told the driver.

"You got it." he said.

I placed one of my feet against his to keep them in place and reached out the window to lend him a hand.

"Dante…?"

I looked out the window just in time to see Dante aiming down the sight of his gun. With a single pull on the trigger, a loud _BANG_ echoed in the air cab's cabin. I looked out to my right and saw another big Trick Sparrow fall to the ground. As it fell, the other Trick Sparrows that were following us fell back and started to fly away. Dante's last shot was enough to scare them away.

"Pull me up! Pull me up!"

I looked down and saw Dante reaching up to me, his hand flailing wildly in the air. I reached down and grabbed his wrist as he grabbed onto mine. With one big tug, I pulled him back into the air cab. Dante jumped into the seat and latched onto it as hard as he could.

There was a moment of silence as Dante held onto the seat tightly. He was breathing hard and fast, his eyes wide open from shock. His gun had fallen to the floor and had settled by his feet.

"You really seem to enjoy these near-death experiences, don't you?" I said to calm the moment.

Dante nodded slowly and shakily with a smile. "Yeah." was all he said as he laughed softly.

"Good timing guys." the driver said back to us. "We're approaching the terminal now."

I looked out the front windshield and saw the air cab fly into the tunnel leading to the landing pads. I couldn't stop the breath of relief as I relaxed back into the seat. The air cab rode on peacefully as I reflected on the overly difficult flight over here.

A few seconds later, we landed. Dante and I both shakily stood up as we jumped out onto the platform. We made our way across the terminal and out into the street. I saw several of the soldiers standing guard in the station rush over to the air cab as soon as they saw the complete wreck it had become. I was glad that Dante and I were able to get out before they started asking us any questions. I was tired from the flight and didn't feel like getting held back during the competition.

Besides, it was time to look for the Zaghnol.

Outside, the street greeted us with a lonely silence. The only sound that could be heard was from the commotion in the air cab terminal. The rest of the city was rolled over by an ominous sense of peace.

"It feels pretty weird out here, you know?" I said.

"You're just imagining things." Dante responded.

"It just feels dangerous, that's all."

"Well, we _are_ in the Festival of the Hunt." Dante sarcastically pointed out.

I just shook my head and stopped trying to explain the feeling I felt. I walked down the street towards the next plaza, keeping my eyes open to make sure we didn't get jumped again.

"Hey Trevor," Dante asked. "I was wondering something earlier."

"What was it?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of the skies and alleyways in my search for monsters.

"How do you know magic?"

I turned to Dante with a raised eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"When you broke the glass in the air cab earlier. That looked like magic."

I stopped focusing on the area around us as Dante's words sank in. "I can use magic?" I asked confusedly.

"I think so." Dante said with a nod.

"Wow." I said, unsure if I could believe it. How could I, some dumb college student, know magic? For that matter, how could I be in Gaia living out my favorite video game? Lots of questions ran through my head as I pondered it. I couldn't use magic before, so maybe this was a result of the injection I was given. Maybe there was some use to that whole event. I would have to remember the kindness the old men showed me by giving me magic when I killed them for messing with my head.

A howl shot out through the street as I thought to myself. I picked my head up and looked down the street. A lone Fang walked out from an alley and turned towards Dante and me. There was a brief staring contest as we both stared down at the Fang, which only growled in response.

"At least this one's alone, right?" I nudged Dante.

"Yeah. Mind if I…?"

"Go right ahead." I told him, taking a step back as he raised his gun up.

The Fang saw me step back and mistook it for retreating. It barked as it broke into a run and tried to charge at me. Fortunately, Dante took the shot early on and hit the Fang right in the head. The Fang fell to the ground and flopped to its side as it rolled to a halt.

"Well that was quick." I muttered as I walked passed Dante. He ejected the old cartridge and reloaded his gun as he started walking with me.

"Hey! After hanging upside down outside of an air ship, I don't think I should have to put up with drawn out fights against a single enemy!"

"Good point." I commented.

The rest of the walk went peacefully enough as we walked down the first street. No other monsters attacked us, which allowed for a rather interesting conversation between Dante and myself.

"You could not juggle your short swords in combat!"

"How would you know?" I asked. "Maybe I'm really good at juggling."

"I don't think you could juggle while you were getting your leg chewed off by a Fang."

"He'd never get that close!" I insisted. "I'd use my awesome magic to blow him up before he even came close."

"That last time was a fluke!" Dante said loudly. "You said you didn't know how to use magic!"

"And I don't know how your gun works, but I know how to use it."

"Oh really?" Dante demanded. "How?"

"Point and click."

"It's not that simple!" Dante yelled. He pulled his gun out and aimed down the sight. "You need to aim, counter for gravity and wind speed, _and_ consider what damage you could cause by hitting something. Like that Fang I shot in the leg, causing the backup on the stairs in the Industrial District."

I simply held my and shaped it like a gun. "Click." was all I said as I pulled my hand back, as if I had fired a shot.

"I'll shoot your big toe off!" Dante threatened.

"I'll cut off your thumb!" I retorted.

Suddenly, a scream rang out through the plaza. It sounded familiar, like some kid I knew. It came from the across the plaza in the plaza where the Zaghnol was supposed to be. That's when it hit me…

"Vivi?"

"What did you say?" Dante asked.

"That sounded like a friend of mine." I said. "You remember the little guy in the straw hat who was with us at the beginning of the Festival?"

"Oh yeah!" Dante remembered. "The little guy who didn't want to compete, right?"

"Right." I said as I picked up the pace. His scream sounded like it came from the next plaza over. I knew Vivi was a good fighter, but I still couldn't help but be concerned for him. There was that one scene in the game where he was running away from a Fang in this plaza. Maybe the same thing would happen here. Either way, I had to find him and help however I could. If he was in trouble and got hurt, there was no way I'd be able to forgive myself.

_C'mon Vivi._ I thought._ Be alright._

_Or we could just let him die. No big deal._

I stopped running and grabbed the side of my head. _What? Who said that?_ Whatever was going on, I could hear a voice, the same one I heard earlier in the Industrial District that was laughing at me. Was this related to what the old men did to me? _Who are you?_ I tried to ask.

"There he is!" Dante yelled from behind me, cutting off my conversation with the voice in my head. Maybe I really was going crazy.

Reassessing the situation, my focus turned to Vivi again as I saw him running for dear life from a rampaging Fang. He gripped his staff in his right hand as he held his hat against his head in the other hand.

"Vivi!" I called out for concern of the little Black Mage. I unsheathed my short swords and bent my knees low, skidding to a halt. I stood up and spread my legs apart, getting a good grip on the ground.

"Heeelp!" Vivi yelled as he ran passed my left side, missing me by only a foot. With the Fang only a few feet away, I twisted my hips back to the right, holding my short swords parallel to the ground. If my next move was going to work, I'd need to have perfect timing.

When the Fang saw me closer than Vivi, it reacted by focusing on me. I turned and ran for me, not realizing the grave mistake it was making. It leapt in the air, lunging for my chest, but it was met by the cross guard of my short sword hitting it in the jaw. Since cross guards were originally designed to by used for punching, rather than blocking, the move went off perfectly. The Fang was knocked to my side and sprawled out on the ground in shock.

I had twisted my hips the other way from carrying through with the blow I gave the Fang. With the power recoiled in my legs, I turned back and plunged my short sword into the Fang's chest. There was a shot of blood spurting out from the wound I gave it as I pressed my blade deeper into its side. The Fang choked on a small bit of blood, oozing out of its mouth, before shivering and laying dead on the ground in a bloody heap. As violent as what I had just done was, I had to admit that it was pretty cool. I was definitely becoming a better fighter. All the experience I got in Sword Club was nothing compared to this.

"We sure get to see a lot of messed up dead things, don't we?" I smirked.

"I think it's because of you." Dante remarked. "You're like a magnet for messy corpses."

"Damn. No wonder I always had so much trouble attracting women."

"Trevor!" came a voice from behind us. I turned and saw an out of breath Vivi.

"Hey Vivi." I said. "You alright?"

"Y-yeah." he stuttered. "Thanks for helping me."

"No problem. How are you feeling in general? Think you'll make it to the end of the Festival?"

"I-I think so." Vivi said nervously. "I don't think I'll win, but I should be fine."

"Oh really?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "How many points do you have so far?"

"I'm not sure." Vivi answered. He put his hand to his chin in thought. "I think I have 130 points or something like that. What about you?"

"I think I have about 160 points so far." I told him. "I just hope I have enough time to get over 200. That would be a pretty good accomplishment for my first time competing in the Festival."

"Hey Trevor," Dante interrupted. "We should get going."

"Right." I said back to him. "Vivi," I said, turning to my smaller friend. "Why don't you come with us? We could definitely use the magical assistance, and you would be safer around us."

"Right." Dante spoke up. "Like when those flocks of Trick Sparrows started attacking us in the air cab. Or when that Fang pounced on me."

"Okay then." I shrugged. "You could protect Dante."

"HEY!"

Vivi adjusted his hat before he answered. "Thanks Trevor, but I want to finish on my own, to see if I can do it."

I was impressed by Vivi's determination. He was definitely becoming stronger. It was too bad that he decided to go off on his own since it would be nice to have his help against the Zaghnol, but it was best not to coerce him. The more self determined he became now, the easier it would be for him to feel confident when we had to go to Burmesia.

"Alright. It's your call." I told Vivi. "I'll see you later during the award ceremony."

"Good luck Trevor." Vivi said. He held out his hand with a smile. "I hope you win."

I took Vivi's hand in my own and shook hands with him. "Thanks Vivi." We released hands and I reached out and matted his hat down on his head playfully. "Now go take down another Fang or two."

"Alright, I will." Vivi said as he readjusted his hat. With that, he turned and ran off down the street. Mean while, Dante and I turned around and headed down to the next plaza where the Zaghnol should have been.

"He's doing pretty well so far, don't you think?" I asked Dante as we walked.

"The little guy?" Dante asked. "He must be really strong to survive out here on his own."

"You have no idea." I said, thinking about Vivi's Doomsday spell from the end of the game. I shuttered as I thought about how much raw, unearthly power was involved in that spell and what it would be like to be in the middle of it.

We entered the next plaza with no enemies in sight. Wayne's Synthesis shop was still standing and all seemed good and well. Unfortunately, Dante and I were the only ones around in the entire vicinity. Much to my distaste, that meant the Zaghnol was nowhere around as well.

"It looks like there's nothing here in the entire district." Dante said.

"Damn." I muttered. I hoped that we hadn't missed it or that it wasn't going to show up here. If that was the case, my plan for getting one last challenge in was going to go to waste.

"There's still one street nearby." I offered. "Let's check that out."

"Alright." Dante agreed.

We backed out of the plaza and looped around to the next street. A few of the stalls that were lined up against the sides of the street were damaged from some of the combat. It looked like some of the monsters in the district came in and ran into them while fighting. Some stalls were off luckier than others, having only had the cloth over their stalls having been ripped. Others were totally smashed and their products lay scattered on the ground.

I took point as the next street came into view. I unsheathed my short swords as I turned down the street to the right. It seemed empty enough, but we've been ambushed before, so it really paid to be careful.

"I don't see anything here either." Dante said as we walked down the narrow passageway. He was right. The place was completely devoid of any monsters.

There was a church taking up the rest of the space at the street and making a dead end. It was a simple building made of white stone and consisting of a pair of large front doors and a single stained glass window just above the entrance. Dante and I managed to reach the front doors without any confrontations.

"Bloody hell." I muttered. "Are there ANY monsters left around here?"

"It doesn't look like it." Dante said.

I kicked the wall to my right in frustration. Not only was the Zaghnol nowhere to be seen, but there weren't any monsters around. At this rate, there was no way that I could get up to 200 points. And I was so close! Just another pair of Fangs and I would have it.

"Trevor!" Dante said excitedly all of a sudden.

"What?" I said as I turned around. As I turned, I saw a Fang standing in the middle of the street behind us.

"Finally." I said as I stepped out to take it down.

"Trevor, hold on." Dante said, grabbing my arm and stopping me from moving.

"What?" I asked. It wasn't like I hadn't already taken down several of these things already.

"You mind if I kill it?" he asked. All the while, the Fang just stood in the street growling, trying its best to decide which one of us to attack first.

I just rolled my eyes, hating myself on the inside for being so nice. "Alright." I told him. "Go ahead."

I stepped out of the way as Dante held up his gun and aimed it at the Fang. The drooling monster just stood in place, still growling in frustration for being unable to decide who to attack first.

With a simple _BANG_, the Fang's decision came to a conclusion. Dante's bullet ripped into its head and went clear out the other side of its skull. One moment the Fang was growling at us, the next it had fallen to the ground, bleeding from the face.

"Nice." I commented. The Fang died so quickly that it still had a look of anger on its face. I looked on in fascination as the blood trickled onto the street into a messy puddle.

_No!_ I yelled to myself, shielding my eyes from the sight in front of me. I_'m not doing that bloodlusty stare-into-a-blood-puddle thing again._

"Are you alright?" Dante asked. He reloaded and strapped his gun back into its holster.

"Yeah," I said. "I'm fine." I shook my head and turned away from the Fang. I re-sheathed my short swords. Since there were no more enemies around, I wasn't going to need them.

Just then, I heard a scream, not unlike the blood filled one I heard earlier while in the Industrial District. It was the sound of someone screaming with their own blood choking them. It sounded closer than the last one, but it still led to one logical conclusion: I was still going crazy. Maybe there was a correlation between seeing pools of blood and hearing the screams.

"Never mind." I said. "I still hear people screaming."

"Uh… Trevor?" Dante said hesitantly.

"Yeah?" I asked, intent on getting away from the bleeding Fang as soon as I could.

"…I heard it too."

I stood wide-eyed as Dante revealed this to me. If I heard the scream, it probably meant I was going crazy from the injection I was given. But if Dante heard it too, that could only mean-

"Someone's in trouble!" I pointed out. "We have to help them!"

Dante nodded and the two of us ran down the street as quickly as possible. I hurdled over the Fang, ignoring the temptation to drench my swords in its blood, and skidded as I entered the first plaza. Dante was close behind me, the two of us intent on finding whoever had screamed and saving them if at all possible.

As we rounded the corner to the next plaza, I saw two people running towards us. It took me a moment, but I recognized the two of them after a few seconds. They were both Uzu's lackeys. They were both disarmed and running as fast as they could away from the next plaza.

"Run away!" one of them cried.

"How could they let _that_ loose in the Festival!?!" the other yelled.

Not having Uzu around the concerned me. Morons like them depended on bigger morons like Uzu to help them feel important. When the smaller morons weren't around the bigger moron, the most likely cause was that something had happened to the bigger moron. And judging by how the smaller morons were running, I could easily guess that Uzu was either caught up in fighting the Zaghnol, or he was dead. Either way, it seemed that he was the one who had screamed just a few seconds ago.

Dante and I skidded to a halt when we entered the next plaza. Not because there was a big bloody mess or anything, but because a giant red wall of tightened leather on four legs was blocking our way in.

The Zaghnol.

The enormous red beast resembled something like a stegosaurus, but without the spiky tail and plated back. It's back was decorated with blue fur set in a row along its spine. However, the most noticeable thing about the Zaghnol was the set of tusks protruding out from the sides of its mouth. There was one, foot long tusk at each side of the monster's gaping maw.

It turned slowly on its stumpy legs to face Dante and I. The blood on its front tusks gleamed in the sunlight. It had recently gored something. It's hooves scraped the ground, getting ready to charge at us.

"Help me!" came a cry from inside the plaza.

"There's Uzu!" Dante yelled. He pointed off to the left.

Uzu was resting against the wall of the nearest building to the left. He was holding his left upper arm with his right hand. His arm was bleeding badly. Apparently, that was what the Zaghnol had gored its tusks on. However, what I saw next made it even worse.

"Mr. Uzu!" came a worried young voice. Two kids ran up to Uzu, nudging for him to get to his feet. Assuming that things were the same here as they were in the game, those had to be the kids that Zidane was supposed to rescue from the Zaghnol. I couldn't remember their names, but I knew that Zidane wouldn't forgive me if I just let something happen to them.

"Get up Mr. Uzu!" the boy said.

"I'm scared!" said the girl.

"I told you two to get out of here!" Uzu bellowed.

"Kids! Run!" I tried to encourage, but they were too scared. They clung to Uzu as he laid on the ground in a bloody mess.

"What are we going to do?" Dante asked.

I had to run all the information through my head as I considered what had to be done. Uzu and the kids had to be saved and the Zaghnol had to be killed. I knew that the kids wouldn't leave Uzu out of fear so they would have to leave with him, but that would be hard to do what with Uzu's condition. Also, why they wanted to be near him in the first place eluded me, but it didn't matter now. Dante and I had to get them out of the way and keep the Zaghnol away from them.

"Dante," I began. "You grab Uzu and get him out of here. Try hiding him in Wayne's shop." I said, pointing to the open doorway the size of a garage across the plaza.

"But what about this thing?" Dante asked, indicating the Zaghnol.

"I'll distract it."

"By yourself? That's suicide!"

"Hey, I've done crazier things."

"But you'll get killed!" Dante said, genuinely concerned.

"I don't need to fight it," I informed Dante. "I just need to distract it." I unsheathed my short swords and stepped back defensively. "Just come back to help after Uzu and the kids are safe."

"But Trevor-"

"Just do what I say!" I yelled, unable to hold back the slowly gathering anger in my chest. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I was going to need to be as focused as I could to survive fighting the Zaghnol.

Dante breathed a defeated sigh and pulled his gun out of its holster. "You'd better not die." he said.

"I won't." I said with all seriousness. This next fight was going to be the hardest one yet. I was tired, I was trying to hold back a mountain of anger within myself, and I was going to have to fight alone for the first time since arriving here in Gaia. In other words, I was going to have to pull something like the Prince of Persia, one of my other favorite games. I grinned in anticipation, full of confidence that I could keep a monster the size of a trailer away from a pair of kids, an engineer and a bleeding idiot.

It was going to be a miracle if I didn't lose a limb to this thing.

----------------

Yes! A cliffhanger! The ultimate evil! BWAHAHAHA!!!! But there is hope! The next chapter will contain the last chapter of the Festival of the Hunt, and… the winner of the Festival of the Hunt WILL BE REVEALED!!! Now I just need another two or three weeks to write the chapter. Hehe. Don't worry. I'll make it worth the wait.


	18. Festival of the Hunt Part 4

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's note: Alright. It's the Fourth of July, and what better way to spend it than by reading the last chapter of the Festival of the Hunt in Shattered Mind? Aside from fireworks, picnics, spending time with your families, and watching various TV marathons.

Anyway, all of your patience (or lack there of) has finally paid off. Sorry that it took so long to write, but that week long vacation in California, combined with that horrible, _horrible_ writer's block, made it kind of hard to write. Today, you will get to see who wins the Festival of the Hunt! I received several votes for Vivi, Zidane, Dante, and of course, Trevor. No Freya though. Hmm… Special thank you's go out to Lizette Cruz, Tabansi232, vines-throughXfate, Dragoon Swordsman, Argus456, Solark, huggysupreme, and CSOmega for voting. It means a lot to me. Now, if you could all leave a review…?

Go ahead and enjoy.

Chapter 18- The Festival of the Hunt Part 4- The Zaghnol.

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There is a time in every man's life when he considers the choices in his life that led up to the point that he's living in the present. Sometimes it's to determine how he got into trouble with another group of people such as the police or a mafia. Sometimes, it's to figure out how he ended up doing crack in an alley behind a tavern. Sometimes, it's to discover why he got into gambling and lost all of his money.

Right now, I was trying to figure out where it was on my journey through Gaia that I took enough blows to the head to volunteer to take on a Zaghnol all by myself.

_Damn, damn, damn, damn!!!_

I ran into the next plaza as fast as I could, passing shopping stalls and display cases on my sides. Somewhere behind me, Dante was trying to help Uzu and the kids. The Zaghnol was close behind me and ready to kill me, but despite all sensible logic, that was what I wanted. As long as the beast was busy with me, Dante could concentrate on what he was doing.

However, I was still screwed. If I didn't do something to get out of the Zaghnol's path, and soon, I was going to get a nasty looking pair of tusks driven through my gut.

In a feat of uncanny acrobatic ability, I managed to swing my left leg out from underneath me and kicked off to the side with my right leg, using the momentum to swing myself over to the side. I twisted in mid-air from swinging my left leg, keeping the Zaghnol in view. As I had hoped, the Zaghnol wasn't able to turn around in time and just kept on running straight ahead, with me out of the way.

I grinned at my accomplishment as I flew backwards through the air. My plan had worked just fine and now I was going to have an easier time dodging the Zaghnol's attacks. As long as I kept my distance, this was going to be easy.

My grin was quickly replaced by a grimace as I felt myself land backwards against a set of trashcans. I felt a shot of pain travel along my back as I sat waist deep in garbage for a second before standing up again.

"Ow." I muttered as I felt pain well itself just underneath my neck. I had hit the corner of the can there pretty hard and was going to have a nasty bruise forming there by morning. I reached back to rub the pain away, doing little to dull it.

Across the plaza, the Zaghnol let out a ferocious roar as it ground its hooves into the pavement. It stomped angrily, clearly intending to rip me to shreds as soon as it got the chance.

I held my short swords carefully, ready to respond however I had to depending on how the Zaghnol acted. If he charged at me, I'd dodge. If he came in thrashing and stomping, I'd run. I took a deep breath, steadying myself and clearing my mind of any distractions. I already had too much to deal with as it was. _Note to self, get a CAT scan later._

With my mind slightly clearer, I stared down at the Zaghnol. I wasn't going to lose to it, no matter what. I didn't know when I was going to get a chance to attack it, but whenever it was, it would have to be soon. There was only twenty minutes left in the Festival. I sheathed my short swords, not ready to attack until I knew that I could even hit it.

The Zaghnol stomped angrily on the ground, bucking so hard that its back hooves were flying several feet off of the ground. It let out a deep roar as it broke into another charge straight for me.

Knowing that the Zaghnol couldn't easily turn in mid-run was my advantage. As long as I wasn't in its path I was fine. The problem, as I found out next, was its speed.

I started to jog lightly as the Zaghnol ran, confident that by mocking it like this, I could make it angrier, which would piss it off so much that it made a mistake. Classic strategy. What caught me off guard was that the Zaghnol had made it half way across the plaza in just two seconds, with me still in its way. I did a double take as I rolled into a tumble, avoiding its tusks and hooves by mere inches.

I picked myself up again as the Zaghnol reached the other side of the plaza. A shiver ran down my spine as I realized how close I had just come to dying. All of the body weight on that thing had to be pure muscle, rather than fat as I had earlier assumed.

_I have got to be more careful._ I thought to myself.

_You idiot! You're going to get killed!_

I gripped my head, now, more sure than ever that I was hearing voices in my head.

"Who are you!" I yelled throughout the plaza, looking around to see if anyone was watching me. The most likely explanation was that someone was using telepathy to talk to me, as unlikely as that was.

_Pay attention!_ the voice yelled.

I snapped to attention and saw that the Zaghnol had already turned around at the other side of the plaza and was getting ready to charge again.

_Run!_

I turned and ran across the plaza as fast as I could, unsure if the Zaghnol was right behind me or not. A loud crash behind me answered my question. I skidded to a halt, bracing myself up against a shopping stall. The Zaghnol had run into a display case just a few feet behind me and was now shaking the excess glass from its head.

I pressed myself against the stall I was leaning against, lightly shaking from knowing what would happen if I was hit by even one of the red beast's attacks. I was all alone out here, so if I got hurt, even if it was just enough to stun me for a second, I would be in big trouble. No one was around to help me out and no one would come to my aid if I needed it. Add that to how I didn't have any way to attack the raging beast, and my fears would be deemed understandable. However, being afraid wasn't going to help, so I pushed them aside as best as I could and looked around for anything that I could use to help me.

The stalls that were left in the area were selling things like toys and household cleaners. Not much use there. I took another deep breath to settle my shivering nerves. Panicking was the worst thing to do now.

That's when I noticed the smell. I looked back and realized what I was leaning against. It was the old woman's Gysahl pickle cart. As I looked back at the Zaghnol, a smile crept onto my face as a plan came into mind.

The Zaghnol rose from the now wrecked display case and stared at me with a look of pure fury. I could tell how much it wanted to kill me for being so hard to kill. There were some small cuts on the Zaghnol's face from the broken glass. I chuckled as I saw how badly the Zaghnol's pride seemed to be hurt.

"Aww, who'sh da pwoor baybee?" I said in as mocking a tone as I could muster, followed up with an insulting laugh.

The Zaghnol just let out a grating roar in response and immediately broke into a run. It was all going exactly as I had hoped it would.

The Zaghnol charged ahead at full speed, which meant that I had about a second and a half before I was skewered on its tusks. I shifted all of my weight into my left leg and pushed off, forcing myself into the street, dodging the Zaghnol by a good enough distance. I pivoted as I soared through the air, landing on my hand and pulling off a flawless cartwheel. I landed with my momentum pulling me backwards. I hopped as I touched the ground again, halting any further movement. I was surprised that I had pulled off a move like that without even trying. If I had tried something like that before, I'd land on my ass and make myself look like a complete idiot. Now, it seems like I could pull off a few acrobatics. If this was a part of the injection I got in Dali, then maybe I would let the old men live when I finally found them…

…Well, probably not, but I would consider it.

Meanwhile, the Zaghnol slammed into the pickle cart at full speed. He hit it so hard that I could feel the force of the blow, even as far away as I was. The red monster's entire head had sunk into the newly wrecked pickle cart. It struggled as it kept running and eventually hit the nearest wall. I threw it head from side to side, trying desperately to get the cart off of its head.

I merely laughed at it, glad that my plan had worked and that there was a way to beat the Zaghnol. Brute strength was nothing up against a good plan. Although it wasn't very reassuring to find out that I was smarter than a Zaghnol, I couldn't help but laugh from glee at outsmarting it.

That's why I didn't see the pickle cart get thrown off of the monster's head and fly towards me.

The next thing I knew, I felt an amazing shock of pain as the cart winged my left arm. I didn't even have time to scream in pain as I was knocked backwards from the impact. I rolled head over heels once and ended up on my back.

As soon as I landed, I tried to recall what happened and tried to find out if I was okay. I couldn't feel my left arm, I had a huge headache forming in the back of my head, and I knew that if I didn't get up soon, the Zaghnol was going to trample me to death. I was far from okay.

_What the hell are you doing?_ the voice yelled at me. It echoed in my head. _Get up! GET UP!_

I struggled to push myself up on my right arm. My left arm was now completely numb and was probably broken for all I knew. I tried not to think of the incredible pain that I should be feeling and tried to think instead of the fact that if I didn't move quickly, I was going to die.

The sunlight was beating don on me, skewing my vision. As I lifted myself up only a few inches, I saw a red blob with points in front of it stand over me. I knew it was the Zaghnol. I could feel its breath wash over me as it snorted in the glory of its victory.

"Shit." I muttered as I realized that if a miracle didn't happen in the next three seconds, that I was going to die.

_I'm not going to let it end like this._ I thought as the Zaghnol towered over me.

The Zaghnol reared up on its hind legs, preparing to smash down me. It let out a low bellow as it flicked its hooves over me in a pointless display of superiority.

_This is it!_

All I could do was hold my short sword up in my right arm, pointing it towards the Zaghnol's throat. Even if it did come down and crush me, I was still going to cut its throat open. I'd win one way or the other. I held my eyes open as the red blur that was the Zaghnol came down on me.

…_Nicole…_

Dante

"Just do what I say!" Trevor yelled suddenly.

Dante knew that fighting Trevor when Uzu desperately needed help wasn't a smart thing to do at all. Especially not with the grotesque Zaghnol standing so close. Dante just sighed in defeat as he holstered his gun.

"You'd better not die." Dante told his friend.

"I won't." Trevor said. His voice was full of malice.

The dual wielding swordsman started backing away from the plaza as Dante inconspicuously moved to the side of the street, out of the way of where the Zaghnol was standing. It breathed hard from battle lust and got ready to charge. Trevor clanged his short swords together over his head as he backed up. The Zaghnol followed intently, as if to squelch the noise of the clanging short swords. After backing up a few feet, Trevor knew he had the Zaghnol's attention and turned to break into a run. Angered, the Zaghnol quickly ran after Trevor.

Dante knew that Trevor's mission was a suicide mission and prayed that this wasn't going to be the last he ever saw of him. He was a really good person.

With Trevor and the Zaghnol gone from the plaza, Dante set out to do what he had been told to do. He looked over and saw Uzu struggling to get to his feet.

"Mr. Uzu…" one of the children by his side cried.

"How many times have I told you to leave?" Uzu demanded.

"But we're scared!" said the other child as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Dammit!" Uzu said as he clutched his bleeding arm.

"Alright Uzu," Dante said as he stood over the once threatening enemy. "We need to get you out of here. Can you walk?"

"Go screw yourself loser!" Uzu yelled. "I don't need your help!"

"I think you do." Dante said flatly.

"Well… you're wrong!" Uzu grunted as he fell forward, now on his hands and knees. His left arm was bleeding too badly though and the extra pressure put on his arm sent him to his stomach in pain.

"Aaahh! Dammit!!!" Uzu cried out angrily. Excess blood fell from his arm as he desperately tried to move.

Thinking quickly, Dante turned to the kids who were cowering behind Uzu. "Kids, I need you to go into that shop over there and get some potions." he said as he pointed over at Alice's Item Shop on the other side of the plaza.

"But…isn't that stealing?" the boy asked.

"I'll pay for it." Dante said. "Now go! Uzu needs them badly."

Without another word, the kids both ran off towards the shop. Dante stood and watched them leave, making sure nothing jumped out to attack them. Once the children made it into the shop, Dante knew they were as safe as they could be while the Festival was going on. With them gone, Dante could ask Uzu something that had been bothering him.

"So what happened here?" the engineer asked.

"Nothing." Uzu stubbornly spat out.

Dante might not have been the most insightful guy around, but he could still tell some parts of what had occurred before he and Trevor showed up.

"You saved those kids from that monster, didn't you?"

Uzu snarled as he fought back the pain in his arm. "Why would I go and do that?"

"Well, why else would the kids be calling you 'Mr. Uzu' and ask you to save them?"

Uzu didn't answer Dante's question. Instead, he just sat back and remained silent.

"Uzu, it's alright if you saved them. Everyone would respect you for it." Dante tried to explain.

Uzu simply turned his head away. Whether he was embarrassed or ashamed, Dante couldn't tell. There were another few seconds of silence before Uzu answered him.

"I couldn't let them get hurt." Uzu told Dante. "They're just kids."

"You see?" Dante exclaimed. "No one's going to make fun of you for that! No one in their right mind would!"

"Whatever." Uzu said sullenly. "Just shut up before I kick your ass."

Dante frowned and turned the other way, knowing that talking with Uzu anymore at this point would be futile. Off in the distance, he heard a loud crash, like something had taken an enormous hammer and had driven it through the side of an air ship. Strangely enough, he could distinctly hear laughter following it. It all came from the same direction that Trevor had run off to, to distract the Zaghnol.

_It seems Trevor's having fun with his fight._ Dante thought. Realizing that even as easy as Trevor might have been having it, Dante worried, knowing that if he didn't show up to help Trevor sooner or later, there would be trouble. _Where are those kids?_

Dante's question was answered as the kids both walked out of Alice's Item Shop, each carrying a large box filled with potions. It was obvious to Dante that the kids were just concerned with Uzu's well being and over did it in their panic.

"We got the potions!" the boy said as the two of them ran up to Dante.

"Can you help him?" asked the girl.

"Good job you two." Dante said as the kids put the boxes by his feet. He reached in and pulled out three vials of potions. All Uzu had was a hole in his arm along with blood loss. Three or four potions would be enough to cure him completely. Dante popped the top off of one of the vials and handed it to Uzu.

"Here you go." Dante said at the hand off.

Uzu took it without a word and drank the whole thing in one gulp. The other two came in quick succession and were downed just as quickly. As Uzu drank, the wound on his arm quickly closed and the blood inside his body slowly replaced itself from the loss it had taken. Not being a complete fool, Uzu took another vial out of the box and drank it as well. When he was finished with the last vial, he threw it against the nearest wall and watched as it broke into pieces and fell to the ground. Feeling better, the hulking Uzu stood up and walked over to his claymore, which had been knocked away during his fight against the Zaghnol.

"Thanks kids." Dante said as Uzu moved further down the street. Uzu picked up his claymore and heaved it over his shoulder, then turned back and headed for the plaza where Trevor and the Zaghnol had run off to.

"Where are you going?" Dante asked.

"To finish off that thing." came the reply.

"But you shouldn't get in the way!" Dante argued. "You should watch the kids!"

"I'll kill you if you get in _my_ way!" Uzu yelled back.

Uzu stubbornly trudged on, ignoring Dante's protests. Dante knew that he couldn't stop Uzu and that angered as he was, Uzu probably would follow through on his threat if Dante tried to stop him. Then there was the matter of going to help Trevor fight the Zaghnol before he got killed. Seeing no other option, the engineer simply turned to the kids standing behind him and put his hands on their shoulders.

"Kids," he said. "You did a great job here, but you need to go hide now." Dante grabbed the boxes of potions and slid them in front of the two kids. "Take these, and go hide in Alice's shop again." he told them. "I'll come by when it's safe to come out again."

"Will Mr. Uzu be okay?" the little girl asked.

Dante smirked, trying to calm the kids down. "That guy?" he said lightly. "I'm more worried for that monster."

The kids both smiled and they each picked up a box. They ran as fast as they could back towards the item shop and shut the door behind them. Monsters usually didn't break into people's houses, so Dante was sure that they would be fine as long as they stayed inside.

Seeing Uzu at the front of the plaza, Dante remembered that Trevor still needed help. He reached behind himself and pulled out his gun from its holster. With newfound determination and Uzu on his side, more or less, Dante was sure that everything would turn out just fine. Dante slowed his run to a walk as he caught up to Uzu.

"Thanks for your help Uzu." Dante said.

"I'm not doing this to help you." Uzu muttered angrily. "I want revenge."

"Actually, I was talking about how you helped those kids." Dante replied. "That was pretty cool."

Uzu's eyes never shifted as he marched steadily on. "Shut up." he said somewhat softly.

Dante grinned. It seemed that Uzu wasn't really that bad a guy. Perhaps, all he needed was a push in the right direction.

They walked in silence as they soon rounded the next corner. Unfortunately, what Dante saw next was nothing like what he expected.

"…Trevor?"

Trevor

_This is it!_ I thought fatally.

I positioned my short sword underneath the Zaghnol so that the beast's weight would push the blade through its neck as it fell. If I was going to die, I was going to go out fighting. A few images from my life passed threw my mind as I relished in my last moments, but one image stuck out from all the rest.

…_Nicole…_

I held my breath for what felt like an eternity as I shut my eyes, waiting for the crushing blow from the Zaghnol.

Although it felt like I was waiting for a long time, the next thing I was aware of was the loud cry of pain that came from over me. My eyes peered open as I saw the Zaghnol backing away. With the angle I was looking at changed, the sunlight was no longer in my way and I saw the red monster dripping blood from its face onto the street as it thrashed in pain. Somehow, its face had been hurt badly, causing the monster a great deal of pain.

As I looked around for whoever saved me, I felt a tug on the back of my shirt. Someone's hand hooked my shirt and the armor I was wearing and dragged me away from the wailing monstrosity. With my left arm still feeling numb, my right arm held onto both of my short swords so that they wouldn't be left behind as I was pulled back.

When we were about twenty feet away from the Zaghnol, I felt my rescuer stop pulling me and kneel down next to me.

"Are you alright?" came a familiar voice.

I weakly looked up with the sunlight still in my eyes, barely able to make out who it was at my side. All I could really see was messy blonde hair and a large, blue double sword weapon in the person's left hand. I blinked in disbelief and joy as I realized who it was.

"Zidane?"

"The one and only." Zidane said. "You sure like getting beaten up, don't you?"

"Well…if I don't do it, then who will?" I joked.

"Well, I think you should stop with the hero stuff." Zidane said seriously. "Your left arm looks pretty beaten up."

"That makes sense considering that I can't feel it."

"Could you be any more reckless?"

"I dunno. Think the Zaghnol over there will let me stick my head in its mouth?"

Upon mentioning the raging beast across the plaza, our attention turned to it. I lifted my head as best as I could and saw that it had stopped its thrashing around and settled its gaze on Zidane and myself.

"I don't suppose you have a potion or two on you, do you?" I asked Zidane hurriedly.

"Right here." he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pair of potion vials. I pushed myself into a sitting position and took the two vials. I drank both vials as quickly as I could. A static ring seemed to pass down my arm as I regained feeling in it. I flexed my arm as the feeling came back in it, forming a fist as the last of my arm healed itself.

"Much better!" I said, jumping to my feet. I felt regenerated and ready to go another few rounds against the Zaghnol. "By the way, nice new weapon Zidane."

"Like it?" he asked.

He was carrying the Ogre now instead of his usual daggers. It was a dual bladed weapon set on a single pole, each blade facing the other way from the other one. From what little research I had done, that weapon was called a double sword. Then again, the only thing I had to support that was the word of a small time retailer who sold me a weapon like it at an anime convention once.

"Not as much as my new short swords, but yeah, it's pretty cool." I grinned.

"Think we can take this thing?" Zidane asked as the Zaghnol roared from across the plaza, no doubt looking for any weaknesses we might have had.

"I think we could." I said confidently. With the two of us, one person could run as a decoy while the other person could attack it, then we could switch roles to keep the Zaghnol confused. "Do you think we should wait for it to charge or should we run in now?"

"Actually, I'm kinda wondering why it hasn't charged at us yet." Zidane said worriedly.

Zidane had a point. Considering how the Zaghnol had been acting up until now, he would charge at me every single chance he got. Why would it wait to attack now? As I looked at the Zaghnol, I got my answer. A small electrical buildup started along its spine, only to shoot out into a sphere around the Zaghnol for a second and get absorbed into the monster's feet.

"Oookay…" I said grimly. "Now we're really in trouble."

"Why? What did it just do?" Zidane asked.

"It can use Thunder spells now." I explained.

As I finished talking, the Zaghnol let out a deep roar and shook its head at us.

"Move!" I yelled. Zidane and I jumped away from each other to the side, narrowly avoiding a Thunder bolt that would have shocked the two of us if we had stayed in place. I jumped back to my feet and held my short swords at the ready.

"Zidane! We're going to have to attack it!"

"Right!" he cried back.

As we talked, the Zaghnol started charging up another spell. It shook its head as it prepared to unleash its power in an electrical arc from the sky. I was starting to hate Thunder spells more than Fire spells.

The Zaghnol was about to unleash its attack, but it was suddenly cut short as a speck of blood flew out of its side. It roared in pain and stopped charging its spell. I looked back towards the entrance of the plaza and saw a smoking gun being held by Dante, down on one knee and aiming at the monster in front of us all.

"Dante!" I yelled, wondering why everyone else could get a better entrance than what I could pull off.

"Hey Trevor." he said. "I hope we're not too late."

Strangely enough, that's when I noticed that Uzu was standing right behind him.

"Hey Uzu." I said. "I thought you were dead."

"I'm gonna kick your ass when this is done." the mass of stupidity muttered.

"Sure." I said. "Just don't get your ass kicked by this thing again before that."

"Trevor! Enough!" Dante said. "He's on our side now. Let's just leave him alone."

"Tch. Whatever." I said, indignant about being scolded like a child.

"We need to attack it all at once!" Zidane said, taking charge. "Trevor, you attack with me. Dante, just stay back and attack whenever you can. And you," Zidane said, pointing at Uzu. "Can you hit it first?"

"Fine." Uzu said. "But I finish it off."

"Actually, I'll finish it off." Zidane said. "I have a date with a princess riding on this."

"I don't think so monkey boy!" Uzu spewed forth.

"Oh really?" Zidane retorted. "Just try and stop me!"

"Can we concentrate on the monster please?" I yelled over the others.

"I can't distract him like this forever!" Dante said as he fired another shot. The bullet ripped through the Zaghnol's front leg and sent it to the ground. It roared out in pain, which sent a reminder to the rest of us that we had to concentrate on just killing the thing first.

"Just attack!" Zidane yelled.

While Dante stayed back and reloaded, Zidane, Uzu and myself ran at the Zaghnol. My short swords were at my sides, Zidane's Ogre was being spun over his head, and Uzu's claymore was resting on his shoulder.

Somehow, through sheer perversity of logic, Uzu was the fastest of us and charged forward ahead of us. He threw his claymore with all of his strength over his shoulder and into the Zaghnol's forehead. There was a sickening crack as the beast collapsed again. Blood trickled down the blades edge as Uzu turned back in triumph. Zidane and I skidded to a halt only a few feet from the monster's maw.

"I told you I'd win." he sneered.

The Zaghnol didn't move. It just laid there on the ground as the blood started to pool around it. I couldn't believe it. Uzu had actually won.

"Damn it Uzu!" I yelled. I knew that getting angry wasn't going to help me and would only serve to make Uzu gloat more, but damn it! I was just so pissed that this idiot had beaten me!

"What's the matter?" Uzu said, lifting his sword off of the Zaghnol's head and onto his back. "Jealous?"

"I could kill you right now." I growled as my chest burned with rage. My short swords were in my hands. All I had to so was-

"Trevor," Zidane said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Get a grip. There's still time left in the Festival. Let's go find something and get a few more points, okay?"

Somehow, Zidane's suggestion was just what I needed. I took a deep breath and tried to block my anger. "You're right." I said. "Let's go." Taking my anger out on something else would be the easiest thing to do right now. I looked back at Dante and said, "Dante, you coming?"

Dante holstered his gun and just waved back. "No thanks. I have to help the kids in the other plaza."

"Alright man." I said. "I'll see you later."

As I turned away, I took one more look at the dead Zaghnol. The pool of blood around it was getting rather large from its head injury, but that's when I noticed something else. There were small sparks glowing from the fur on the Zaghnol's spine. That's when I knew-

"Look out!"

I reflexively ducked low as a bolt of lightning formed over Uzu's head. The giant idiot looked up dumbly and stood motionlessly as the Thundara attack flashed over him. Three powerful lightning strikes flashed over the area and consumed Uzu. Zidane, Dante and I just watched as he screamed in pain, unable to get any closer to help under risk of electrocution. The whole thing only lasted a few seconds and when it was over, Uzu collapsed, still breathing, but with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

I gripped my short swords tightly, mostly out of excitement. The Zaghnol was still alive. I could still win! I ran at the Zaghnol at full speed. I had to hurt it before it could get another Thundara spell off.

I leapt into the air and landed square on top of the Zaghnol's head. I pushed myself forward and turned around in mid air. As I landed, I slid my left foot behind me and fell to my hands, countering my momentum. I bolted forward and struck a blow into the monster's side and got ready for a series of flashy combos.

"Trevor!" came a voice from the other side of the Zaghnol. I craned my head to the side and saw Zidane brandishing the Ogre at his side. He held it in his right hand and pulled it back at his left side, ready to spin it around at a moment's notice. "Ready?"

I smiled and nodded, knowing what he was planning. I pulled my short sword back and readied my blades for a new plan of attack.

"Go!" Zidane said.

We both began spinning around on each side of the Zaghnol. Our blades spun with us and cut into the monster's sides. Each attack went deeper and deeper as we twirled around in circles. The Zaghnol roared in fury and pain as we attacked, but it couldn't concentrate on a spell to attack us with. Thanks to the bullets that Dante put into its legs, it wasn't going to be walking anywhere anytime soon, so it was really out of ways to attack us or defend itself.

As the force of my blows slowed from dizziness, I righted myself along with the mass of bleeding flesh that was the Zaghnol's left side. I looked at it for a moment. I could let it bleed out, which would take a few minutes, and who knew how much time was left in the Festival, or I could sink my blades past the folds of hanging skin and attack its heart directly. I stepped back and prepared to charge.

As the Zaghnol gave one last pitiful attempt to stand up and fight back, I felt a twinge of remorse for it. I almost stopped my attack, but then I was revisited by the images and memories of how it almost killed me. I wasn't attacking for revenge. I was attacking for retribution.

With one quick motion, I threw my short sword forward into the monster's side. I grunted with effort as I cut through muscle and sinew. The blade was plunged so deep that some of my hand was soon sticking into a part of the beast's side as well. I felt something pulsing against the tip of my short sword and knew that it was the monster's heart. With one final push, I straightened the blade into the heart, cutting into who knows how many arteries and veins. The Zaghnol let out a sickening choke as blood spewed from its mouth. It choked for only a moment before falling silent.

With a great sigh of relief, I pulled my short sword back, knowing that I had won.

I felt like falling down and taking a quick nap as a wave of respite washed over me. The Festival was over, and I had won. I sheathed my short swords and stood proudly, as if posing for the victory dance the characters always did at the end of a battle in the game.

"That was pretty intense." came Zidane's voice from the other side of the, now sure to be dead, Zaghnol. "Thanks for letting me win Trevor."

"What?" I said, turning back to face Zidane and the big dead thing he was standing next to. "What are you talking about?"

"You distracted it long enough to let me do this." Zidane said, pointing to the Zaghnol's throat. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the monster's throat had been cut open. The Ogre had more than enough blood on it to accommodate such an event, so Zidane was obviously telling the truth. He must have gotten the kill while I was cutting through the Zaghnol's side.

It was actually a good thing that Zidane had beaten me. This way, nothing would change in the storyline, which would make things easier to deal with later on. Still, as good as it was that Zidane had won, I couldn't help but feel a bit of regret at my loss. For a while there, I had really hoped to win. Not for the sake of having a Grand Dragon made entirely of ice cream, but because I wanted to be the best.

Well, at the very least, I had a hell of a story to tell later on. Taking on the Zaghnol alone and coming out virtually unharmed was probably something that had never been done before. In a way, I already was the best, and that was good enough for me.

"Nice job Zidane." I said, extending my hand to congratulate him. "Now I have someone to hit up for a loan later."

"I guess." Zidane said with a nervous laugh. "But Trevor, could you use your other hand?"

"What?" I asked, but looked down and saw that I was using my right hand. The same one that was covered in blood from my last attack on the Zaghnol. "Right." I said, switching hands with a laugh. Zidane took my hand in his own and we shook.

"What about Uzu?" said Dante, coming up to join us.

I looked down and saw Uzu still sprawled out on the ground just a few feet away.

"Let the medics worry about him." I said. "He'll be fine when he wakes up."

"Well, if the Festival's over, I guess I'll go help those kids now." Dante said. He slipped his gun into his holster and turned to head back to the weapon's plaza.

"I'll go with you." I said. "I could use the fountain there to wash off all of this blood." I jogged up to Dante's side and held my right arm out, trying not to spread any of the blood around.

"I'm going to go back to the castle." Zidane said. "The Festival will be over in a few minutes anyway. I might as well get a head start."

"Alright. I'll catch up to you in a few minutes." I said, waving back with my bloody hand.

"See ya!" Zidane said. He turned around and headed down the street to the air cab terminal.

"Daring friend you have." Dante commented as we walked along. "I don't think I'd be willing to get that close to a monster like that."

"And I'm not daring?" I interjected. "I stuck my hand inside of the damn thing!"

"That's not daring, that's stupid."

"Shut up gun-boy!"

"Psychopath."

"Techno geek."

"Mental case."

"Nerd."

"I'll shoot you in the foot!"

"I'll smack you in the face with my bloody hand!"

Dante and I continued our mock argument as we entered the next plaza. The fountain was a great sight to see. I walked up to it and dipped my hand into the cool waters. I felt a chill go down my arm as some of the blood washed away. I pulled out my short swords and dipped them in the fountain as well.

"You know, they're probably going to get mad at you for doing that." Dante said as he headed towards Alice's Item Shop.

"Blood is one of the most corrosive things for a sword. I care about my swords, so I'm doing this." I explained. "Besides, it's not that big a deal."

"Okay," Dante said. "If you insist." He knocked on the door of the item shop and leaned against it. "Kids?" he called in. "It's Dante. The one who was with Uzu before."

There were a few moments of silence as Dante waited for an answer. Meanwhile, most of the blood was already off of my swords. Since it was all fresh, it came off pretty easily. A few swirls around in the water and it was gone.

The door to the item shop opened and the two kids from before stuck their heads out.

"Is it safe yet?" the boy asked.

"It's safe." Dante told him. "The monsters are all gone and my friend Trevor is back. He's the one who took on the big monster away on his own, remember?"

"Hey kids." I said from the side of the fountain. My short swords were clean now anyway, so I took them out of the water and let it flow down to the tip of the blade. I flicked them in the air a few times to get rid of the excess water before sheathing them again.

The kids seemed to think it was okay to be outside again and walked out and looked around, probably checking for any monsters that might have been around, just in case. They didn't respond to my greeting at all, but I excused it, mostly due to apathy.

"Where's Mr. Uzu?" the girl asked when she emerged from the shop.

Dante looked at me nervously, unsure of what to say. Being good at improvisations, I answered. "He took a hit to help out the rest of us while we were fighting the monster from before. He's not hurt badly, but he'll be a little weak for a while."

The kids looked shocked, like I had just told them that Uzu was dead. "Don't worry." I offered calmly. "He's fine. He just needs a little rest."

"Then let's help him." the boy said.

"Yeah!" said the girl.

The two of them ran off towards the first plaza as fast as they could, regardless of what could have been around the next corner.

"Hey, wait up!" Dante called back as he started chasing after them. I stayed back, too tired to do any real running. Besides, there couldn't have been any other monsters around. With Dante and myself on one end of the District and Zidane heading out through the other end, no monsters were going to get through to hurt those kids. I just laid back on the edge of the fountain and rested for a moment.

As I tried to relax, a loud horn sounded from over head, breaking me away from my short-lived peace and quiet. It sounded loud enough to be heard throughout the entire city, like and air raid siren, but more passive.

"Attention all Hunters and Huntresses!" came a voice over an intercom. I recognized it as Minister Artania's. "The Festival of the Hunt is now finished, and we're pleased to announce the winner of this year's Festival."

There were a few seconds of pause as the minister tried to build tension for the competitors. If I didn't already know the results, I would have been holding onto the sides of the fountain in a death grip, silently begging to know the answer. Instead, I just lazed back as I listened to the silence of the minister droning on.

"The winner for this year's Festival of the Hunt is…"

_Zidane Tribal_, I thought, filling in the answer as Minister Artania built up another long pause. _I wonder if he's like this at political meeting?._ I joked to myself.

"Trevor McEvoy with 240 points!!!"

"…What?!?"

I was so surprised by the real result that I slid backwards into the fountain. The water quickly ran over me as I was almost instantly submerged. I struggled to get up above water as my arms and legs thrashed violently. After a few seconds, I got a grip on the side of the fountain and pulled myself up. I spat a mouthful of water out and crawled out of the fountain, winding up on my back. I gasped for air for a few seconds before I stood up again.

_I actually won?_ I thought to myself. _But I thought Zidane got the last attack in._

As happy as I would have normally been, the results were so unexpected that I couldn't do anything beyond stand around with a blank expression on my face. Standing around certainly wasn't going to do me any good, so I pulled myself together and shakily walked down the street to the next plaza where Dante should have been waiting.

Around the next corner, Dante and the kids were standing around a sitting Uzu. His hair was still a little frizzy from the Thundara attack, but other than that, he seemed fine. Dante ran up to me excitedly as soon as he saw me.

"Trevor!" he cried out. "You won! You fricken won! …Why are you all wet?"

"I fell into the fountain when I heard the news." I said quickly. "So how's Uzu?" I asked, changing the subject.

"He'll be fine." Dante said. "Only his pride's really hurt."

I glanced to the side. Uzu was watching the kids as they jumped around him, telling him how good he was in the fight and that he would win next year. Normally, I would have expected him to take a swing at anyone who talked to him like that, but his lack of action towards the kids led me to another conclusion. If Uzu was nice around kids, maybe he could be nice around others. I've seen assholes become compassionate before. Maybe a good word or two would help.

"Hey Uzu." I called over to him. Uzu turned his head without a word and just looked straight at me.

"Good job earlier." I told him.

Uzu continued to look at me with a bland expression until he said, "Yeah. You too."

I nodded back towards him with a smile. Perhaps Uzu wasn't that bad a guy. He turned and walked down the street with the two kids following him closely. As long as they were around, I was sure that he would stay out of trouble.

"Lets get out of here." I said to Dante. "They're probably waiting for us back in the castle. You wanted to talk to the Regent about your patent, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's go."

"Alright." I heard Dante say as he fell in place behind me.

The corpse of the Zaghnol was still lying across the plaza. By now, the blood that had seeped from its body spread out into a ten foot diameter. It was almost enough blood to water an entire garden, although I don't think anyone would use it for that purpose under the risk of Zombies growing next to their azaleas.

Unfortunately, that's when the voice came back. It just laughed menacingly as images passed through my mind of how I killed it. The images were basically the same, but were filled with more sickening gore and disgusting sounds. I saw myself stabbing my entire short sword into the monster's side again, accompanied by a grotesque '_squelsh_' sound. I shook my head, trying to get the image out of my head.

"Trevor." came Dante's voice. "Are you okay?"

I turned and saw Dante standing right next to me with a concerned look on his face. He was worried no doubt, but that wasn't what I needed right now. The fewer people who knew about whatever was happening to me, the better.

"I'm fine." I lied. "It's just a bad headache."

"Well you might want to have that looked at when we get to the castle." he said.

_You have no idea._ I thought.

"Right." I said as I picked up the pace and started down the street for the air cab terminal again. "Let's go."

"Right behind you." Dante said as he jogged to catch up.

It was the middle of the afternoon, I had just won a prestigious contest of skill and talent, my new buddy Dante and I were on our way to spend some time in the luxurious Lindblum Grand Castle, and I had an enormous ice cream statue to look forward to when we got there. All in all, it was a pretty good day.

I was going to hate it when everyone found out about the disaster going on right now in Burmesia.

----------------

There! Finished! And it only took me a little less than a month to do it! Still, I think this may be my best chapter yet. It's certainly my longest! And I only had to stay up until… oh god. I'm so tired I can't even read the clock. Does that say 3 AM or 5AM? Whatever. I'm going to go sleep until the fireworks start later tonight.

Please read and review. Since I worked so hard on this chapter, all reviewers will earn a special place in my heart. \(O)/

Also, the more reviews I get, the harder I tend to work on chapters. Always a plus, don't you think?


	19. Rewards and Bad News

Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: Well, I ask for constructive criticism, so I feel obligated to thank the people who help me in such a way whenever they do. Special thanks go out to Yuleen75 and The Tiny Pea for pointing out various errors that I made. As such, they both get Giant Cookie Awards. Hooray! Additional thanks go out to everyone who reviewed. Chapter 18 was my most popular chapter since Chapter 12. I want to also thank Tabansi232, CSOmega, Lizette Cruz, Blaze Shadow, Grey Wolf Demon, Argus456, Solark, Lucky-da-bunny, and vines-throughXfate for their reviews. Reviews are the lifeblood that keep this story going!

And speaking of things to say 'Hooray' over, this story now has more than 100 reviews! Yay!

However, I'm going to work on a chapter of another story I'm working on next. I just thought I'd tell you all this way rather than leave you hanging for a month or so. I almost never update it, so it seems fitting to get some work done on it now.

Chapter 19- Rewards and Bad News

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There were only two air cabs when Dante and I walked into the terminal. A normal looking one that didn't seem to have anything wrong with it, and the one we had abandoned earlier from the chase scene against the Trick Sparrows. By now, it was getting repairs done on it while it was still on the landing pad. That would have probably slowed things down a bit.

"So which air cab do you want to grab?" I asked.

"I'll take the broken one." Dante joked. "We know that it's been in the air before and that it worked. We know nothing of this newer looking one. It might fall out of the sky while we're airborne in the middle of town."

"Yeah, I like the newer one too." I said, tiredly chuckling at his response. I headed on board of the second air cab and took a seat. Dante came in right after me and took the seat next to me.

"Try not to drip on the seats too much." he said. I just pushed him over on the seat, too tired to argue verbally. I was still soaked from falling into the fountain earlier when I found out, to my surprise, that I had actually won the Festival of the Hunt.

"Where to guys?" the driver asked.

"Lindblum Castle." Dante said.

The driver nodded and started the air cab. The twin engines roared to life and we took off towards the enormous castle.

The air cab ride itself was pretty uneventful. Just a standard ride from point A to point B. It was what happened after we landed that made it interesting.

I was leaning back in the seat with Dante at my side. The ride was a little uncomfortable since I was soaked, but I could deal with it. Neither of us talked as the air cab flew towards our next destination. We were too tired from the two hour adrenaline rush of a contest we just finished. Plus, the air cab ride was smooth and relaxing and made it somewhat hard to stay awake. All of my muscles ached and I had a slight headache. Dagger might be able to help with that later.

The air cab drove quietly into the terminal. However, I could distinctly hear some sort of low humming noise coming from somewhere outside.

"Do you hear that?" I asked Dante.

"Hear what?" he asked tiredly.

The air cab pulled into the terminal at Lindblum Castle. Finally, we were back to where we had started two hours ago. However, unlike two hours ago, there were now streamers and confetti strewn about everywhere. Also, there was a crowd of cheering fanatics waving and hollering on the other side of a guardrail being watched carefully by a set of Royal Guards. The air cab landed and I stepped out to examine the odd sight before me.

"There he is!" someone yelled from the crowd. It set off cheers and screams of excitement throughout the rest of the crowd as everyone turned and looked at me, much to my astonishment.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" yelled a voice over the intercom system that Minister Artania had been using earlier. "It's the winner of the Festival of the Hunt himself! Trevor McEvoy!"

I turned back to look at Dante as he exited out of the air cab.

"Is it always like this?" I yelled over the crowd.

"Always!" Dante yelled back. "This is a really big deal to the whole city!"

"Really." I observed. A ball of confetti landed right in my hair as I turned back to watch the crowd. If I wasn't careful, I was going to get hurt even worse than I did during the fight against the Zaghnol. I cringed at the thought of dislocating a shoulder due to a streamer smacking me in the arm.

Rather than just stand around like a clueless moron, I raised my hand a waved slightly to the crowd. I smiled as best as I could, but I really wasn't expecting this. I was tired and wanted to get inside where I could rest. Meanwhile, Dante was looking around the crowd from behind me.

"I don't see any of your friends." he said.

"Neither do I." I told him. "They're probably waiting inside."

"Then let's go."

"And skip out on all my adoring fans?" I said sarcastically.

"C'mon." Dante said as he rolled his eyes. I gave one final wave to everyone in the crowd and headed down the walkway to the entrance of the castle.

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Inside, it was much more peaceful. The guards didn't cheer until my ears bled, like the crowd would have done if I had stayed outside. They only gave me the occasional "Congratulations" or "Good job". And best of all, they didn't throw confetti into my hair. It was going to take quite a bit of time to get the rest of this stuff out of my hair.

Dante and I made our way down the red carpet into the central hall. The elevator to the Royal Chamber was right ahead of us.

"I think I'll wait here." Dante said suddenly.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"First off, I'm not the winner here. You are." Dante explained. "Second, I'm really not dressed appropriately for a royal audience." he said, pointing at his shirt. It was still ripped open pretty badly from when that Fang attacked him in the Theatre District, letting his red armor sow through.

"You'll be fine." I said. "Remember Zidane? He'll be there and he doesn't even have any sleeves."

"Did I hear my name?"

I turned around and saw Zidane standing just a few feet away. He was leaning against the wall leading up to the elevator.

"Hey Zidane!" I called out. "I hope you're not mad."

"Why would I be mad?" he said, stepping down towards us. "I'm just disappointed that I lost. Dagger said she'd go on a date with me if I won."

I couldn't help but chuckle as Zidane told me his problem. "Don't worry." I told him. "I'll put in a good word for you. You _did_ save my life."

"Well then I guess that makes us even from when you saved my life." he explained.

"I saved your life?" I asked, not able to remember the occurrence.

"You remember how you distracted the ice giant while I was attacking it with Tidal Flame?"

My thoughts ran back on the fight from a few days ago. I threw snowballs at the Sealion's back while it and Zidane were attacking each other with their strongest attacks. The distraction allowed Zidane to overpower it and win in the end.

"Right." I said. "Now I remember."

"Well, we're even." he said with a smile. "Uhh… one question though."

"Shoot."

"Why are you all wet?"

I narrowed my eyes and wore a grim frown as he asked his question. "I fell into a fountain after I found out that I won the Festival." I didn't like repeating myself, even if it was to other people who had a legitimate excuse to not understand what was going on.

Zidane blinked a few times. "Oh."

"Yeah." I said briskly, intent on changing the subject. "Have you gone up to the Royal Chambers yet?"

"Nope." he said. "I was waiting for you."

"Cool." I said. "Let's go then. I want to see how this ice cream statue came out."

"Why did you ask for that anyway?" Dante asked as we started moving down the hallway towards the elevator.

"I'm just weird I guess." I answered. "I wanted a lot of ice cream and putting it in a statue seemed entertaining."

"Well, in that case we'd better hurry up before it melts." Zidane said.

"Right."

All three of us made our way onto the elevator and started our way up to the Regent's room on the upper floor. I took the time to air dry myself by standing next to the edge of the elevator. Since there weren't any walls in the elevator shaft, lots of air rushed downward, giving me a perfect opportunity to dry myself off a little.

"Having fun Trevor?" Dante asked.

"Tons." I responded. Actually, I was freezing from the fast winds cooling the water against my skin, but at least my arms and legs were getting dryer. My clothes and hair were still soaked, but there was nothing I could do about that.

A few seconds later, there was a soft _Ding_ from the front of the elevator. The grate at the front opened and let us pass through into another hallway decorated with red carpets and red curtains. It was almost like they were trying to simulate a bloody massacre here.

"Zidane! Trevor!"

I looked over and saw Vivi and Freya waiting against the wall in the corridor. Vivi ran right up to us, excited to see more friends again, but Freya took her own sweet time walking towards us. Drama was so much easier when you walked slowly.

"It's about time you two got here." Freya said.

"In a hurry for some reason?" Zidane asked.

"I just don't enjoy waiting around for too long." Freya said. She turned her attention towards me, as if forming an accusation. However, her expression quickly changed from an accusatory one to a quizzical one. "What happened to you?" she asked me.

I frowned at being asked the same question so many times in one day. Now it was just starting to get on my nerves. "I fell into a fountain."

"Why?" Vivi asked.

"Because I was surprised that I won the Festival." I explained blandly. Fortunately, the question only pushed me towards mild irritation, not real anger. There was little chance that I was going to go berserk on anyone here. Besides, they were my friends, so I was able to remind myself of that and give them a little leverage.

"Well, I think that it's time someone went off and got his ridiculous prize." Freya said in a light tone, lowering her gaze to me. "Shall we?"

"I think so." I said. I took point and walked down the hallway with the others right behind me. The corridor was a long one, despite how it might have appeared in the game. With a good 100 feet stretching between the doors to the Royal Chambers and the elevator, it took a while for all of us to make our way down. If I wanted to enter the Royal Chambers dramatically, then I'd have to wait while I caught my breath outside of the room for a few minutes. Damn the architects. This hallway was not designed for the tired.

"Everyone! Wait!" came a voice from behind us down the hallway. All six of us turned and saw the princess being escorted by a knight in badly rusted armor.

"Hey Dagger!" Zidane said first. He turned around and struck a 'cool guy' pose by crossing his arms.

"Dagger!" Vivi called out. "Did you see us?" He ran up and stood next to Zidane as Dagger walked up to them both.

A small conversation started among the three of them, with Steiner glaring suspiciously at Zidane and occasionally glancing up at me.

"Ever one with the ladies." Freya commented.

"You mean Zidane?" I asked. "He used to do this when you two knew each other before?"

"Not towards me, but just about every other girl around him would be hit on." she said. "It seems he's always trying to sweep some lucky lady off of her feet, but a princess?"

"Whoa, hold on a second." Dante interrupted. "You mean that girl is a princess?"

"Yeah, from Alexandria." I told him in a bland tone. Treating this like it was no big deal was fun. Then again, messing with just about anyone was fun.

"You know the princess of Alexandria?!?" Dante asked in a bemused voice.

"Yeah, but she's traveling in secret, so try not to let it spread around, okay?"

Dante just looked back and forth between Dagger and me a few times before finally settling down. He nodded in agreement after a few seconds.

"I just can't believe she's a princess!" he said again.

"Well what did you think when you first saw her before the Festival?" Freya asked.

"I thought she was Zidane's girlfriend." he said loud enough for everyone to hear.

Zidane and Dagger instantly tensed up. They both blushed slightly, despite their attempts to hide it. Unfortunately, Steiner's reaction wasn't nearly as quiet.

"WHAT!!!" he fumed. I could almost see the stream coming out of his ears. "That thief? With the Princess?"

"That's right Steiner. Yell until your tongue pops out." I said as I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, can we keep moving?" Vivi asked suddenly. "I want to see Trevor's ice cream statue."

"Good idea." I said. "Plus there's the celebratory feast afterwards."

"Then let's go." Freya said. "I want to watch Trevor get his award so we can get something to eat afterwards."

"Gee Freya, I didn't know you cared." I joked sarcastically.

"Actually, the sooner we finish this, the sooner we can go get something to eat." she corrected.

"Ah." If this was an anime, I would've been sweat-dropping.

With another few feet down the hallway, we made it to the Royal Chambers. The guards standing outside the doors opened them, revealing the overly red décor in the room from the scarlet curtains to the crimson rugs.

Regent Cid was seated at his throne. I was barely able to hold back a cringe as I saw his slimy bug-body once again. Minister Artania was standing at the side of his throne with a large trophy in his arms. My large trophy. I thought the other hunters would be asked to show up for something like this, but no one else was in the room. I guess that it was because all the other hunters were either too tired, too disappointed in not winning, or dead. I was hoping that it was either the first two choices for the majority of the combatants.

"Congratulations Hunters and Huntresses!" Regent Cid greeted. "The courage and prowess you have all demonstrated was among the greatest I've seen in years. Especially against the Zaghnol. Congratulations! You should be very proud!"

The Regent jumped from his throne and landed on the floor just a few feet in front of me. I realized how easy it would have been to squish him once and for all, but I decided against it for obvious reasons. The thought of being a political assassin didn't really appeal to me.

"Trevor McEvoy," Regent Cid continued. "Because of the determination and skill you demonstrated in battle, we present you with the Master Hunter trophy and your reward."

Minister Artania walked up to me and handed me the trophy. "240 points! That's very impressive. Congratulations."

"Thanks." I said as I took the trophy. I looked around for the ice cream Grand Dragon, but I didn't see it. I couldn't help but worry if it was really being made.

"If you're wondering about your reward," the Regent said, as if reading my mind. "It's still being made." Regent Cid jumped his way up towards his throne and sat down. "Your request was so unusual that the castle chefs will need a little more time to make it. From what I've seen, it's very intricate."

If Regent Cid could really read my mind, maybe he could tell me what was wrong with me. As far as I knew, Gaia didn't have any way of determining mental health via magic or technology.

"Alright." I said. I didn't mind waiting. It was going to be a while before we had to leave for Burmecia, so there wasn't any rush. "Quick question though."

"What is it?" the insect Regent asked.

"How did I win? I thought Zidane got the last hit in."

"Ah yes. I thought you would ask that." Regent Cid remarked.

_That's it! He's psychic!_

"We determined that you managed to cut through to the Zaghnol's heart before Zidane cut its throat. The last hit that killed it was the one you gave it. Zidane's attack came a second afterwards. It was obvious that the damage to its heart would have killed it, so we gave you the points for its death"

"But how did you see it?" I asked, genuinely confused. A call like that would require a close eye on the whole area.

"We have spotters in air ships and in houses throughout the city who watch the combatants and determine their scores." Regent Cid explained.

"Ah. I get it." I said. At least now I had an explanation. Things tended to work out better for me when I understood why things turned out the way they did. And I still had to tell Dagger about how Zidane saved my life. I owed him that much.

"Regent…" came a wounded voice from the doorway. I knew it was a Burmecian soldier, coming to beg for Lindblum's aid in a confrontation with a "mysterious force". I turned around and saw an injured rat soldier entering the room, doubled over in pain. Those of us standing between the Regent and the soldier stepped away, clearing a sort of path between the two of them. "Please forgive my intrusion… I bring urgent news… from our king."

"The king of Burmecia?" the Regent said, hopping down from his throne.

I saw Minister Artania whisper something into Regent Cid's ear, or whatever it was oglops had for ears. I remembered from the game how the good Minister would now be worrying about the Regent's appearance in front of the Burmecian soldier. However, the soldier's wounds had blinded him, making Regent Cid's appearance irrelevant.

"Continue." the Regent instructed.

"Our kingdom is being attacked by some unknown force!" the Burmecian soldier explained. "We are severely outmatched! Please send reinforcements immediately! The enemy looks like an army of mages wearing… steeple-crowned hats."

The crowd of us standing in the room glance briefly at Vivi. He shifted nervously and pulled his hat down slightly, hiding himself from the world.

"The king and I are old friends." Regent Cid assured the soldier. "We will send reinforcements to Burmecia immediately."

"Thank you, Regent!" the soldier said. The comfort and relief in his voice was apparent. "The king… and all of Burmecia will be most grateful! I must… return now… Ugh."

The soldier collapsed from fatigue and his injuries. Freya, being a Burmecian as well, kneeled beside him and caught him before he hit the floor.

"Take him to the infirmary!" the Regent commanded urgently.

"It's too late." Freya said solemnly. "He's gone… " She gently lowered the soldier to the floor and stood up slowly and respectfully. "It's a miracle he even made it this far. I can't believe this is happening." Freya cupped her head in her hands as she stood silently.

A pair of guards came into the room and removed the soldier's body. They carefully placed him on a stretcher and carried him off. My guess was that they were going to take him off to be buried in a cemetery for soldiers or something. Either way, it was good to see camaraderie among nations like this.

"This is a problem…" Minister Artania said. He stroked his beard as he spoke. "Because of the Festival, there are hardly any men left in the castle. It will take time to mobilize."

"We have no choice." Regent Cid said grimly. "Call back the 4th aerial division patrolling the border."

"But if we recall the 4th, we will lose our eyes over Alexandria." the Minister argued.

" Gwok-gwok Burmecia is our ally." Regent Cid said with a croak. "We must help them."

"Steeple-crowned hats…" Freya thought out loud. "They might be black mages, like Vivi."

"It can't be." Vivi said fearfully as he backed away to be by himself.

"I must go now." Freya decided. "I cannot sit and wait for the reinforcements."

"I'm coming with you." Zidane told her.

"No. This doesn't concern you." Freya responded.

"What's this, I'm a stranger all of a sudden!?" Zidane snapped back. He walked up to Freya and looked her straight in the eye as he spoke. "I'm not gonna sit back and watch your home get destroyed, alright?"

Freya knew she couldn't convince him not to go with her, so she simply sighed and shook her head in defeat. "Thank you, Zidane."

"Um, c-can I come, too?" Vivi asked nervously. Apparently, being told of people like him attacking an innocent country scared him. "I wanna find out who they really are."

"Sure." Zidane agreed. Freya nodded along with him.

"Alright then." Dagger said. "Let's go to Burmecia."

"Princess! This is a foreign matter!" Steiner interrupted. "It has nothing to do with us!"

"Steiner is right." Cid explained. "We don't know if Alexandria is involved."

"But if black mages are involved…" Dagger stopped in mid sentence, knowing that she couldn't reveal such information with Dante around. She just looked at Zidane piteously. "Zidane, you know what I'm talking about."

Zidane didn't say anything. He knew what was going on. All of us except Freya and Dante knew. The Black Mages that were created in Dali and sent to Alexandria were being used as tools of war by Queen Brahne in order to wipe out the Burmecians.

"If Mother is behind this, I'll make her stop! I promise!" Dagger said. She seemed even more determined to help out than I had ever seen her up to this point.

"I think you should stay here with Trevor." Zidane said finally.

"What!?" Dagger exclaimed.

I was afraid of this. Zidane was going to try to get me to stay behind with Dagger. I knew she wasn't going to stay, so why should I? I wasn't about to let them go and risk their lives without me. I knew what was going to happen, so they had an advantage with me around.

"I'm not staying behind Zidane." I told him sternly.

"It's too dangerous Trevor." he replied. "You keep getting hurt in all of the fights we go through. You nearly died in the last one!"

"I know." I said quietly. "But I can't stay back and wait around and do nothing knowing that my friends are out there risking their lives!"

"But you should head back to Alexandria!" Zidane said. "Don't you have to worry about your classes?"

"Shouldn't you be in high school?" I said flatly.

Zidane ran a hand through his hair, a clear sign that he was losing the conversation. "Trevor, it's good that you're worried, but this doesn't concern you."

"So what, I'm a stranger now?" I said, blandly quoting Zidane. "I'm not going to sit around and watch you guys go off on your own." I stepped closer to Zidane to accentuate my next point. "Zidane, even if you do leave me behind, I'm going to follow. Even if I have to steal an air ship and fly it to Burmecia alone, I'm going. You can't stop me."

I felt a little weird talking to Zidane like this. I was older than him by four years, yet I was asking him to let me go with him on a rescue mission, albeit harshly.

Zidane sighed, clearly in defeat. I tried to hold back my excitement, knowing that he had given in. "Fine," he said. "You can come, but be careful. You're getting a little reckless lately."

"Got it." I said with a nod and a small smile. I tried not to jump in excitement too much, but with this, I was almost guaranteed to be with these guys for the rest of the story. Lucky me.

However, I was torn away from my inner celebration when I realized something. What was going to happen to Dante?

I saw Zidane turn to Dagger to confront her about her staying behind. He didn't need me for that, so I turned my attention elsewhere.

"Dante." I said, walking over to the engineer. "How about you? Are you coming with us?"

Dante responded by holding up a hand as if to stop me from asking anything more. "No way Trevor." he said suddenly. "I'd only slow you guys down. Besides, I'm an engineer. Not a fighter."

I raised an eyebrow at his statement. "Not a fighter?" I repeated. "Then explain what you did for the last two hours."

"That was a field test." he said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Besides, with all the monsters out there, I'd run out of bullets before too long and slow everything down."

As much as I didn't want to admit it, Dante was right. I thought it would have been fun to have him along with us, but with his limited resources and no knowledge in any other fighting style, he wouldn't last too long out there. Arguing for him to follow us would be almost the same as asking him to kill himself.

"Now's not the time to argue." Regent Cid yelled over Zidane and Dagger's argument. A silence flew over the room as we all quieted down.

"He's right." Freya said. "We must head to Burmecia at once. Will you open the Dragon's Gate?"

"Of course." Regent Cid complied. "If you're going by foot, leaving from that gate is the best way. Let us eat while we gwok wait for the gate to open."

Everyone started piling out of the room, heading downstairs for the Royal Conference room where the Regent was putting on a feast. It was supposed to be part of the Festival of the Hunt, but with the depression in the air coming from Dagger's pride and Zidane's sulking, it seemed more like a last meal before a suicide mission. Perhaps a certain ice cream statue could fix that. Hopefully, the chefs were putting the finishing touches on it right now.

"I guess this is goodbye then." Dante said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"You're not going to stick around for the feast?" I asked.

"Nah." he said. "I told Wayne I'd grab something to eat with him if I survived."

"What about your patent? You didn't get to speak to the Regent yet."

"I can do that later." Dante said. "Besides, he seems really busy now that he has to worry about Burmecia." Dante looked up at me with a serious look in his eye. "You be careful, alright?"

Dante offered his hand in a friendly handshake. I smiled and took it with my own.

"Alright then." I said. "I guess I'll see you the next time I come back to Lindblum."

"See you later Trevor." Dante said, turning down the hallway towards the elevator.

I couldn't help but think on when I was going to see Lindblum again. First we'd head through Gizamaluke's Grotto, then get to Burmecia, then Cleyra, teleport to Alexandria, travel through Gargan Roo, crash in the Pinnacle Rocks, then finally see Lindblum again.

…Just in time to see Brahne attacking the city.

"Dante wait!" I said, stopping him from walking any further. He turned around and looked at me, confused. By now, we were the only ones left in the hallway. Everyone else had already headed down to the Conference Room just below the Royal Chamber.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I just have to check on something." I said in all seriousness. "Where do you live?"

"The Industrial District. It's closer to work." he answered. "Why?"

That was the worst place he could have been. In the game, Brahne attacked during the night. The battle damaged every part of the city very badly, but the Industrial District was completely obliterated. No one survived.

I couldn't let that happen to Dante.

"Do you have anywhere else that you can stay?" I asked urgently.

"Why?" he asked.

"Just tell me!" I belted out.

Dante lost a step as I yelled at him. He simply collected himself and scratched his head in thought. "I guess I could stay with Wayne for a while. Why? What's up?"

I couldn't tell Dante the truth. If I did, it would either cause him to disbelieve me, or it would end up causing a panic, resulting in more deaths when Brahne finally did attack. Like so many other problems, this one had to be solved with half-truths.

"I can just tell that something bad's going to happen." I told him. It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't really enough information either. "Just find someplace new to stay and don't go to the Industrial District during the night, okay?"

With no way to tell how long away Brahne's attack was, it was safer to tell Dante to stay away from the Industrial District as much as possible. That way, there would be a smaller chance of him getting hurt.

"I think you're just being paranoid Trevor." Dante replied. "I'll be fine. Now, I have to get out of here or Wayne will think I died while stepping off the air cab. I'll see you later."

"Cleyra's going to be destroyed soon." I blurted out. It was a desperate move, but one I was willing to take to protect a friend.

"Cleyra?" Dante asked. "The City of Illusions hidden by the sandstorm?"

"Yeah." I nodded. Apparently, Burmecia's sister city was famous enough to be known by the average Lindblum citizen. Then again, a giant tree surrounded by a never ending tornado of sand would seem pretty unique.

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was." I said grimly. If this didn't convince him of the truth, then nothing would. "When you hear about Cleyra being destroyed, make sure you stay out of the Industrial District, okay?"

Dante looked at me blankly. I could tell that he didn't fully believe me, but that was probably because he didn't want to.

"Are you sure?" Dante asked hesitantly.

"Absolutely." I told him.

"Okay, if you insist." Dante said calmly. "I'll talk to Wayne about staying with him for awhile."

"Good." I said with a breath of relief. With Dante convinced, I now had something else to worry about. "Hey, I've got to go. They're waiting for me in the Conference Room."

"Alright." Dante said. "I'll see you when you get back."

"Alright. I'll see ya later!" I said with a friendly smile, trying to lighten the mood in the grim air. I jumped down the stairs, still trying to ease the tension around us by acting like nothing bad had happened or was going to happen. All that I tried to think about was ice cream. I turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs and gave Dante a final wave goodbye as I entered the double doorway into the Royal Conference Room. He waved back and grinned, assuring me that everything was going to be okay.

Inside, I was greeted by Zidane, Freya, Steiner, and the ever bug-like Regent Cid at the table in the center of the room. The table was devoid of any food, much to my disappointment. Then again, considering that it was all going to be drugged, it didn't matter too greatly to me. Since I didn't see Dagger at the table, I knew that she was probably off putting sleeping weed in the food right now.

Zidane and Steiner were sitting on the left side of the table, but with a seat open between them. Dagger's seat no doubt. Freya and Vivi were sitting next to each other on the right side of the table with one seat open at the end closer to the door. My guess was that it was left open for me. Finally, Regent Cid took the seat at the end of the table, furthest away from the door.

The rest of the room was furnished with armor and weapon pieces on the left wall. The right wall held paintings of respectable looking men, probably past leaders. There were a pair of fancy glass chandeliers overhead, shining from the candles that surrounded them. Regent Cid's throne was on the far side of the room. A pair of cranks at either side of the throne helped carry it from the Royal Chamber down to the Conference Room. I didn't really understand why the whole thing was set up to transport one throne between two rooms like that, but it didn't matter too greatly, so I didn't let it bother me.

"Where were you Trevor?" Zidane asked. "We were about to send someone after you."

"A search party for me? I'm touched." I joked as I took my seat at the end of the table next to Freya.

"So what took you so long?" Freya asked.

"I was just saying bye to Dante. He's not going to be joining us here." I explained.

"That's too bad." Zidane said. "He seems like a pretty nice guy."

"Yeah." I agreed. "But he said he had plans, so it's just us. By the way, where's Dagger?"

"Right here." came a voice from the doorway. We all turned and watched as Dagger walked in and sat down at the table. My guess was that she had just finished putting sleeping weed on all the food from the kitchen, wherever that was. I was going to have to avoid eating anything, just to be safe.

"Where were you Dagger?" I asked, hiding my suspicion.

"Umm… the ladies' room." she answered nervously. It was obvious that she was lying, but I didn't bother saying anything about it under the risk of changing the story.

"Well, now that Princess Garnet has joined us, we can begin the feast!" Regent Cid announced.

When he was done speaking, several butlers brought in several plates and dishes of some of the fanciest foods I had seen in my entire life. Roasts and salads were spread out along the table from one end to the other. In under a second, I went from being able to resist the food to watering at the mouth.

"And of course, for the desert…!" Regent Cid said as the table was full. He swept an arm towards the door and I saw one of the most incredible sights of my life.

A few more waiters were bringing in a giant ice cream statue of a Grand Dragon on a platform with wheels. It just barely fit though the doorway. The Grand Dragon was laying down on its stomach, almost like a cat, and it was huge! From the floor to the tip of its head, it was probably about seven feet tall and from the head to its tail, it stretched about twelve feet long.

"I hope this meets your expectations Mr. McEvoy." the good Regent said politely. "It's made up of mint ice cream for the skin and has layers of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavors beneath that. The chefs even managed to get some details along the body by using chocolate syrup."

"I love this city." I muttered as the statue was brought in and set at the end of the table. The statue was well crafted, although it wasn't exactly life sized, but I was willing to excuse that since it wouldn't have been able to fit through the doorway otherwise.

As I examined the ice cream wonder before me, I noticed a pair of smaller white balls of ice cream, each just a little bit larger than a pair of basketballs sitting next the Grand Dragon on the platform. They also had waffle cones sitting at the tops of their heads, like horns or something.

"Hey Regent Cid, what are those little white things?" I asked as I pointed.

The Regent jumped on top of a silver dish without any food in the middle of the table. "Ah, yes." he said. "The chefs had a little bit of ice cream left after they were finished with the Grand Dragon, so they decided to make these Yans in addition to the Grand Dragon."

"Nice." was all I had to say. I remembered how cute the Yans in the game looked with their big eyes and their giant heads. It was pretty amusing for the chefs to come up with such an idea. I smiled as I held back a chuckle.

From his platform, Regent Cid stood up proudly and cleared his throat. "The Festival of the Hunt feast is one of our oldest traditions." he announced. "It began well over five centuries ago. During the feast, it is customary to eat everything with your hands, so go on, before it gets cold."

"Yay! I'm so hungry!" Vivi cried out excitedly. He immediately dove into the food, as did Steiner.

"Thank you, Uncle." Dagger said quietly.

Freya just sat still in her chair. A look of concern was etched along her face. I looked over and saw Dagger staring blankly into the food. Zidane shrugged as he stared down at the food as well. I could only force my hands to stay at their sides as my gaze passed by every piece of mouthwatering food. I knew that if I ate even one bit of it, the sleeping weed that Dagger put in it would knock me out for a while, so I resisted with all that I could. I could literally hear my taste buds telling me that they hated me.

"Let's just eat." Zidane suggested. "We can't do anything until the gate opens."

"...You're right." Freya finally agreed. She and Zidane started eating, making Dagger and myself the only ones still sitting, doing nothing.

My stomach rumbled as I saw all the food set out before me. The sounds of the others eating around me only made it worse. I glanced over at Dagger and saw her worried expression looking out at all the others.

"This is wonderful!" Steiner said as he picked up a strip of beef. "Princess, how is everything? Why aren't you eating?"

"Oh… I'm sorry." Dagger said abruptly. She picked up what looked like a turkey leg. Whether or not it really was a turkey was entirely up to peculation for me. "You're right. Everything is so delicious."

"Indeed, it is." Steiner nodded. "Especially this beef. It is superb!"

"Why aren't you eating Trevor?" Zidane asked, grabbing a gyshal pickle from a bowl.

Ignoring the evil pickle, I simply answered: "Uhh… I was just trying to figure out what to start eating." It was a lie, but I could cover it well enough. "Actually, I think I'll start on this." I said, walking over to the ice cream statue. Considering how much time the chefs took with making it, Dagger shouldn't have had enough time to put anything in it, so it would be safe to eat. It was so cold that I could feel it freezing as I approached it. It rose up about a foot over my head. The whole thing looked more like a normal statue than one made of ice cream. I still couldn't believe it.

I walked back over to the table and picked up a spoon. I walked back to the statue and took a scoop out of the front right leg of the Grand Dragon. As I pulled away at the mint ice cream at the surface, I revealed a layer of vanilla just beneath it. I ate the scoop and savored the taste. Somehow, they managed to make ice cream even better in Gaia than anywhere I had tasted on Earth. It was so much sweeter and had just the right amount of cream in it. If I ever did go back, I'd have to find out how they did it before I left.

"Is it good?" Zidane asked from the table.

"It's great!" I remarked. I took another scoop and raised it in regards towards Regent Cid. "My compliments to the chefs." I complimented.

"I'll be sure to tell them." Regent Cid said, diving into another helping of beef.

There was another few seconds of silence as we all ate. Within those few seconds, everyone started to look groggier. Vivi placed his hands against the table and leaned forward. "Oh, I'm so full." he said. "I'm getting sleepy now."

I finished another scoop of ice cream and saw Vivi, Freya and Regent Cid falling down alongside the table, or in Regent Cid's case, face first into a helping of beef. The sleeping weed was kicking in and everyone but Dagger, Steiner and myself were feeling the effects.

"What the--THE FOOD IS POISONED!" Steiner yelled as he realized what was happening around him. He spat out his partially chewed beef, trying to avoid the adverse effects the food was displaying.

I looked over and saw Zidane struggling to stay awake. He was gripping the table as hard as he could, barely able to stay conscious.

"Dagger...?" he called out softly. A second later, he fell to the floor, asleep.

"How could I be so careless!!!" Steiner continued to cry out. "Ugh… I'm starting to feel sick… F-Forgive me, Princess. I should have tasted it for poison…" He grabbed at his throat as if it would stop the spread of any poisons though his body.

I stared coldly at Dagger. I could understand why she would go and try to pull something like this. She just wanted to confront her mother politically and try to be useful however she could. However, through my eyes, what she did was border lining on betrayal.

"Nice one." I said darkly.

Dagger looked sad, apparently unaware that I knew what she was going to do. "Trevor… I-"

"I know why you did it." I explained. "And I'm not going to stop you from going to see your mother." I looked over and saw Steiner trashing around on the floor. "Will you knock it off? You're fine!" I told him.

"What?" Steiner cried out, confused. He patted the armor around his chest and felt his face cautiously. "Now that you mention it, I do feel fine." he said, relieved. His relief soon changed to anger as he realized what such knowledge entailed. "How did you know!? You set this up, didn't you, you criminal!"

"It's not poison." Dagger explained for me. "It's just a medicinal herb Zidane gave me."

"Sleeping weed." I filled in.

Steiner's expression changed to shock. "What? Princess, did you know about this?"

Dagger simply nodded to Steiner's question and turned to me with a sad look on her face. "Trevor, I'm sorry that I did this to you all. I didn't want to, but I have to stop Mother."

"Us all?" I asked. As soon as she said it, my legs seemed to give out on me. I fell to my knees, realizing too late that she managed to cover the ice cream statue with sleeping weed as well. I propped myself up on my hands, but it was all in vain. Fatigue washed over me like a river and I fell down onto my chest. It took all my effort to keep my eyes open long enough to see Dagger and Steiner walk by towards the door. As soon as they were passed, my eyes shut and I passed out.

----------------

I don't know how long it was before I woke up. Judging by how the ice cream statue was melting, I'd guess that I was out for only an hour or so. The once sitting dragon now looked like it had been drenched in sweat. Its face made it look like Mu was busy chewing its legs off.

"Bloody hell." I said groggily as I pushed myself up on my hands.

I was way too tired to get up, so I recalled a technique that I occasionally used to help myself wake up. When I woke up, it always helped when I splashed my face with cold water, so I stuck my hand into one of the melting Yans by my head. The shock almost made my heart jump out of my chest.

"Ah!" I cried out as I jumped to my feet.

"You awake?" I heard Zidane ask.

"More or less." I answered, still feeling some effect from the sleeping weed. I grabbed a napkin off of the table and wiped my hands clean of any trace of ice cream. As I came to my senses, I remembered what happened. Dagger drugged us all, despite my attempts to avoid it, and escaped Lindblum with Steiner.

"So what happened?" I asked, playing dumb.

"It seems the princess put sleeping weed in our food and ran off." Freya answered.

"Damn, what the heck is she thinking!?" Zidane cried out. "Maybe she's heading to Burmecia."

"Then you might still be able to catch up with her." Regent Cid said.

"Vivi, wake up!" Zidane said, shaking the little mage. "We're going to Burmecia!" Vivi stirred, then picked himself up from the floor. He adjusted his hat and faced Zidane. I could tell that he was still half asleep, judging by how his eyes were half open.

"Let's head for Gizamaluke's Grotto." Freya suggested. "Once we pass through the grotto, we will be in Burmecia."

Gizamaluke's Grotto was a passageway through the mountains separating the countries of Lindblum and Burmecia. It was supposed to be protected by this odd, serpentine dragon known by the Burmecians as Lord Gizamaluke. I didn't really understand why he was worshiped the way he was since it was never actually covered in the game. Either way, it didn't matter. I was going to have to fight him eventually.

"You can leave from the Dragon's Gate located on the Base Level." Regent Cid said. "Please be careful walking through the mist."

"Alright, we'll leave tonight." Zidane said. "But we'll need supplies first. Vivi, Freya. Can you two go into town and get food and any equipment we might need? We still have the potions that I bought in Dali."

"Sure Zidane." Freya nodded. "But what about you and Trevor?"

"We're going to go find money and some backpacks from a hideout I know about." he said carefully. Even though Regent Cid knew about Tantalus' thievery and tricks, directly talking about it around him would hurt his reputation. Zidane was smart enough to know that. "We'll all meet back in the castle's air cab terminal when we're done." Zidane said.

"Got it." Freya said.

"A-alright." Vivi said, reverting back to his nervous ways. It was probably because of the shock of hearing about Black Mages attacking Burmecia.

"Right." I said. Turning away from Zidane, I faced Regent Cid, still standing in the middle of the table. "Regent Cid, I don't suppose it's possible to put my statue here into a freezer while we're gone, is it?"

"Of course." the Regent said. "Just make sure that my niece is safe."

"Of course." I responded.

"Okay, let's go!" Zidane said, already resembling something of a strong leader. "We need to leave here before sundown."

We all nodded and walked outside the Conference Room doors towards the elevator. I was just hours away from getting involved in the biggest war Gaia had ever seen. This was going to be dangerous on a level that was way too friendly with the term 'suicide'.

Somehow, that just made it seem all the more exciting.

----------------

Well that was fun! I just wish I could have an ice cream statue like that in real life. Oh, and I thought that I should point out that the idea for having the Yans along with the Grand Dragon as part of the ice cream statue was actually CSOmega's idea. A pretty good one, I think. Anyway, as always, please read and review!


	20. Assimilation

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's note: I know I said that I was going to work on another story for a bit, but I just can't pull myself away from this one. I think I'm addicted. :P Especially considering what happens this chapter. I'm going to have so much fun with the next few chapters. Why? Oh, you'll find out. Evil grin

Now, this chapter gets a little slow at times, but give it a chance. The ending makes up for it. ;)

Also, Shattered Mind: Issues has now reached more than 100,000 words! Happy day:D

Chapter 20- Assimilation.

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The air cab ride to the Theatre District was smooth and uneventful. Zidane said that he had a few backpacks and some Gil that we could use for our trip to Burmecia. "Who knows what we'll need." Zidane argued. I didn't point out that I knew pretty much everything we would need for later in the story, one of them being an anti-air gun for the Red Rose during the attack on Cleyra. After only a few minutes in the air cab, we landed and exited the air cab terminal.

"…Then after I distracted the Zaghnol long enough, my plan backfired and I got hit by a flying pickle cart." I explained to Zidane. "That's when you showed up."

Zidane had asked me to describe what I had been through during the Festival of the Hunt, and I was willing to tell him about it. I didn't tell him about the berserker moments I went through because he had already commented on my reckless fighting style. I didn't need to give him any more reason to leave me behind while he, Freya and Vivi went off to Burmecia. They would probably be fine on their own, but I wanted to test myself against General Beatrix. All this testing myself was going to kill me one day.

I wore my short swords proudly at my sides as I walked. To me, they were proof that I was now a swordsman. All my friends back home would be jealous of that. Zidane had detached the Ogre into two halves and wore them on his belt, almost like they were short swords to begin with. At least it explained how he carried his double swords around.

"Sounds like you had a pretty good plan for the most part." Zidane said, leading the way down the street to the Tantalus hideout.

"Well, I like to think of myself as a strategist." I commented. I grinned as I held my hands together behind my head as I walked.

"So, you went to each of those three districts and planned this all out?"

"Yup."

"Good plan. I just went from district to district and fought whatever I could find."

"How many points did you end up with?" I asked, interested in knowing how I had done in comparison to him.

"210."

"Wow." I said. I knew Zidane was a good fighter, but I didn't think he was that good. I had to give him credit, he knew what he was doing though. "You got even more points than I did. Ignoring the Zaghnol I mean."

"Hey, I just went around and fought whatever I could find."

"That works." I said agreeably.

We rounded the corner around the street and soon wound up in front of at two story building with a large clock just above the front door. The hideout of Tantalus, the theatrical and thievery group. One of the doors was still shut from when Dante and I hid inside it during the Festival. Strangely enough, I never really got a good look inside at the time. I was too worried about the flock of Trick Sparrows trying to kill me.

"Is this it?" I asked, displaying my mastery of playing dumb.

"Yeah." Zidane responded. "This is our hideout."

"Nice place." I said, trying to be polite.

"Are you kidding?" Zidane said as he looked at me like I was crazy. "This place is a dump."

It was true. There were floor planks turned up here and there. Tools, props, and equipment were scattered all over. The place looked like it hadn't been dusted or cleaned in any other way in over a year. As if that wasn't enough, the whole place smelled like dust and old soot.

_So much for trying to be a nice guy._ I thought.

I walked into the main room in the building. There was a set of bunk beds against the left wall, one for each of the members of Tantalus. Each one was dried with mildew and smelled terrible, like something that was left in a gym bag and forgotten. There was a walkway next to the beds that didn't appear in the game. My guess was that it probably led to the kitchen and bathrooms and other things like that. Maybe they had a TV back there. I could really go for a good game right about now. Maybe something out of Legacy of Kain.

"The backpacks are over in the chest over there." Zidane said, pulling me out of my thoughts. He pointed to a chest on the far side of the room. "Go get them, will you?"

"Right." I nodded and I walked over to the chest, still thinking about video games. It had been more than a week without any type of game for me. Maybe I was going through withdrawal. And why was I thinking about this now? Was living in a video game not fun enough?

The chest was just an old fashioned lockbox, a simple rectangle like what someone might expect to see at the foot of a jock's bed. There wasn't a lock attached, so I just popped the lid off and opened it up. Inside was a collection of… well, useless junk mostly. Small trowels, metal cups, and old rags were scattered all over the chest. Apparently, nowhere in this hideout could be kept clean. Zidane was right. This place really was a dump.

After moving some things around, I came across four backpacks near the bottom of the chest. They were a dull green color, sort of like a light camouflage. They were really dusty, so I hit them against the side of the chest a few times to get rid of most of it. However, I did spread a lot of dust into the air as well. I closed my mouth and covered my nose to prevent and dust getting into my system as I waved the dust away with one of the backpacks.

As the dust cleared, I looked back into the chest and saw that there was a set of round canteens underneath where the backpacks were. They looked old fashioned, like the kind you'd see being taken into the desert or jungle by an old English explorer in a movie. They might have been useful, so I took them out as well.

"Are these canteens still good?" I asked, holding them up for Zidane to see.

"We still have those?" Zidane said, thinking aloud. "I thought Cinna got rid of them, but yeah, they should still be good."

His way of phrasing it had me a little concerned. "Why would Cinna have gotten rid of them?"

"He said that he 'found' a new set and didn't need those anymore." Zidane explained. "I thought he would have thrown them out, not bury them in a chest."

"And by 'found', you mean he took them from a rich noble, didn't he?"

"That sounds like an accusation." Zidane lightly joked.

"You're all a bunch of thieves." I announced loudly as another joke. Zidane and I had a quick laugh from it.

"Do you have the money yet?" I asked as I put on one backpack and tied a canteen next to my pouch of money. I carried the rest of the equipment in my arms.

"2000 Gil, right here." Zidane said proudly.

"You seem awfully happy for a guy stealing from his brothers." I commented.

"You obviously don't have any brothers." Zidane pointed out as a matter of factly.

"Nope." I told him. "I'm an only child."

"What about your other family?" Zidane asked. "How do you think they're doing without you around?"

"You're not still trying to get me to stay behind, are you?" I asked as glanced at Zidane cynically.

"No, of course not." Zidane defended. "Actually, I'm glad you're coming along. We could use all the help we can get. I'm just trying to make a conversation."

Although my real family was still back on Earth, I could probably get away with telling some of the truth to Zidane. All I had to do was watch what I said and not talk about anything specific to Earth. It would be just like acting, but with my allies' trust on the line. If they found out that I was from another planet, who knew what would happen?

"Well, the only family I really have is my father." I explained truthfully. "He's used to me being away at classes all day. And I don't have any siblings or cousins or anything like that."

"What about your mother?" Zidane asked cautiously.

I paused before I spoke again. It was a hard topic for me to talk about, even as how little I tried to think about it. "…I didn't really know her. She died when I was four." I said quietly.

"Oh. Sorry." Zidane said sadly. He turned away, as if avoiding the subject entirely.

"It's alright." I assured him. "It happened a long time ago, so it's not as big a deal for me now."

I could still remember my father telling me about the car crash she died in. I didn't understand at the time what that meant and I still didn't understand later at her funeral. It took me a while before I could really accept what happened, but afterwards I was able to grasp the concept of death a little more easily. Still, growing up without a mother was pretty hard for me, being able to see how other families lived so happily together, but I got by somehow.

"Ah, but enough about that," I said, trying to change the subject to something lighter. "We've got what we need. Let's go back to the castle."

"Good idea." Zidane said. "Vivi and Freya should be done soon."

"What do you think they got for food?" I asked.

"Knowing Freya, she probably got simple things that we can use to make stews." Zidane answered. "Bread and meat, those kinds of things. We can gather what else we need in the wild."

"Stew sounds pretty good." I said. My stomach growled at the mere mention of food. I didn't eat much during the feast earlier since I knew Dagger had spiked it all. I was going to have to try to get something filling before I left Lindblum or else I'd be hungry and useless in battle, should it occur while in the field. My pride wouldn't allow that.

"Still hungry?" Zidane asked.

"Hey, the only thing I had to eat for lunch was ice cream." I pointed out. "Not very filling."

"Well maybe we can get something before we leave." Zidane said. He started walking out of the building. I followed right next to him outside. We walked silently towards the air cab terminal as the day dragged on.

----------------

Later, after another eventless air cab ride, Zidane and I had made our way to the castle lobby where we had agreed to meet Freya and Vivi. We had been sitting around for a while in silence. Since we didn't know how much longer we would have to wait, I decided to strike up a debate with Zidane at some point.

"…But with short swords, you get more range and weight into the weapon, allowing for more damage when you attack." I said, arguing with Zidane while leaning against the only couch in the room.

"But you're more agile with daggers." Zidane argued back.

"You have a lot of maneuverability with short swords too, but you have more weight in the blade to counteract any fast, jerky motions on the fighter's part."

"But think about the fast combos you can do with daggers." Zidane insisted. "Cuts and stabs can all come at once in a matter of seconds _because_ of those fast, jerky motions!"

While waiting for Freya and Vivi to show up, Zidane and I had started a debate over which one of our weapons was superior. I argued that short swords were better since they had a length and power advantage. Zidane argued that daggers were smaller and more maneuverable. Although we both had good points, neither of us had any really convincing evidence, so debating any further was pointless.

"Whatever." I said, admitting some level of defeat. I didn't feel like debating meaninglessly anymore, but I still managed to find them somehow. So, by this point, I was a magnet for messy corpses and pointless arguments. I was going to have to work on that.

"Hey you two. Wait long?" came a voice from down the hallway. I looked down and saw Freya and Vivi walking towards us. Freya looked passive carrying her two bags, one in each arm, but Vivi wasn't able to hold the bag by the straps at the top without dragging it and had to lift it so that it carried over his head. It looked pretty cute.

"Hey you two." I called out to them.

"Get anything good?" Zidane asked.

"A few rolls, dried meat and water to cook it with." Freya answered.

"I found a pot we can use." Vivi said quickly. The pot, obviously heavy, dragged Vivi's arms down as he carried it.

"Here, let me get that." I said to Vivi. I picked the bag out of his hands and looked inside. There was a small black cauldron-looking pot in the bag, perfect for cooking with. It had three legs underneath it so it could stand up while a fire was burning underneath it.

The set up was perfect. With the amount of food Freya had in her two bags, we could easily last a month out in the wild. We didn't even need matches thanks to Vivi's magic, so as long as we had wood to burn, we could live well enough. It would be like a camping trip, but hopefully without the annoying campfire songs. I hated those.

"So these are the backpacks you guys got?" Freya asked, a little irritated. "They're filthy!"

"Well we need to conserve our money however we can." Zidane pointed out. "Besides, these will work out fine."

"Sure, after we dust them for an hour!" Freya said angrily.

"These will work fine." Zidane said. "Just keep the food inside their bags and put them in the backpacks. The food won't get dirty that way."

"You can be so lazy sometimes Zidane." Freya added.

If Freya wanted to see lazy, she should have seen me on a typical weekend. I'd wake up at eleven o'clock, get some breakfast, and then fall asleep again until two that afternoon. Good times. Especially since I usually got 15 or 20 pancakes for breakfast. Very good times.

"Freya, how many rolls did you get?" I asked.

"Plenty. Why?" she asked.

"I didn't get anything for lunch. Could you pass one over?"

Freya reached into one of the bags in her hand and pulled out a roll big enough to make a sub sandwich with. Considering how much I loved bread, the whole thing would be enough to tide me over until we got something to eat later that night. I quickly took a big bite, sating myself for a moment. I grinned as I enjoyed the unfamiliar honey flavor of the bread.

"This is good." I said contently with bread still in my mouth.

"Can we get moving now?" Freya asked impatiently. "We need to get to Burmecia as soon as possible."

"You're right." Zidane said. "Just put the bags in the backpacks and we'll go."

Freya frowned stubbornly, clearly disliking the backpacks, but she didn't argue. She slid the bags each into their own backpacks. Zidane and Freya picked up the backpacks with food in them. I carried my own backpack and held the cauldron that Vivi brought in.

"So it should take four days to get to Burmecia if we're quick." Zidane said. "We should hurry."

We all started down the hallway in a quick walk. The intensity of the moment seemed to help speed us along. Then again, since we were the only support that Burmecia was going to be getting anytime soon, the moment kind of called for it.

The elevator was waiting for us at the end of the hall. Freya, Zidane, Vivi and I walked onto the platform inside the elevator shaft and pulled the lever to descend to the bottom level of the castle, which lead to the trolley system at the base. I continued eating my roll, enjoying the sights of the passing wall fixtures in the elevator shaft.

"So what's our plan of attack?" I asked as we rode the elevator down.

"Our most important goal is to protect the king of Burmecia." Freya explained. "We'll travel through Gizamaluke's Grotto first to pass through the mountains. Hopefully, we'll be able to rally a few of the Burmecian soldiers stationed there and have them help us storm the city. Either way, we'll rush into the city and save the king by any means necessary."

Since she was the only one of us with any military experience, I wasn't about to question Freya's plans, even though she was wrong. There weren't going to be any survivors in Gizamaluke's Grotto, the king wasn't going to be in Burmecia, and we were going to have to face General Beatrix at the end of it all, the deadliest warrior at Alexandria's disposal. Still, it was a sound enough plan for how little Intel she had.

"Sounds good." Zidane agreed. "Does that work with you two?" he asked, turning to Vivi and me.

"A small team traveling quickly? Works for me." I said.

"That's only if we can't find anyone to help in Gizamaluke's Grotto." Freya said.

"Right." I nodded, keeping the truth to myself. My hands rested impatiently on the hilts of my short swords.

"O-okay." Vivi said nervously.

The elevator reached the bottom of the shaft and opened up to reveal the trolley station. It looked like an old-fashioned subway station. Gears and moving pistons covered one end of the walkway, providing power to the trolley cars. The walls were made out of big stone and reflected a soft blue light. The whole area smelled like a mix of smoke and grinding metal. It was a subway alright.

"This is the car we need." Zidane said, walking off to the right towards a red trolley.

The trolley looked like it was designed after a car model from the 1920's. It had big headlights on both sides along with a large grill between them. The seats faced each other and were made from a soft looking leather, cracked and worn from years of use. There wasn't a top on the trolley, meaning that this was going to be a windy ride. The trolley was set in a trench on top of a set of railroad tracks leading it towards the Dragon's Gate where we needed to go, just like a small train. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see.

"Well, this looks safe." I said sarcastically as I stood next to the small, old clunker of a train. I took another bite of my roll, leaving just a little piece left.

"Can you think of a better way to travel in a place like this?" Zidane asked.

_Yeah, by car._ I thought.

"Not really." I answered. "Maybe by chocobo, but I don't think they'd like all the smoke down here."

"I don't think anyone would like the smoke down here." Zidane commented.

"Just get on the trolley so we can get out of here!" Freya said impatiently. She and Vivi were already in the trolley, leaving Zidane and myself standing by the sidelines. Zidane slid in next to Freya and I hopped on and sat next to Vivi. I popped the rest of my roll into my mouth and finished it off, leaving me much fuller than I was before. Zidane shut the trolley door and locked it with a small latch, like a door lock. Freya pulled the lever by her seat and the trolley creaked to a start.

It made a lot of noise at first and I half expected it to send sparks flying everywhere, but the trolley soon started moving down the tunnel at a brisk and rather noiseless pace. I turned around in my seat so that I could watch the tunnel pass by and feel the wind in my hair. As unsafe and dull as the trolley seemed to be, traveling at the pace we were in an open train car was fun.

"Hey Vivi!" I called to the mage next to me. "Turn around and feel the wind against your face!"

Vivi seemed worried about our trek into Burmecia, so I felt that it was up to me to keep his spirits up any way that I could. And what better way to do that then taking pleasures in the simpler things in life? Not Paris Hilton simple, but more like 'walking barefoot in the grass' simple.

Vivi turned around and gripped the top of the seat with one hand and held onto his hat with the other. His eyes winced as the wind blew into his face, but he let out a small laugh as we rode on. The whole thing was almost like a roller coaster.

"This is some fun, isn't it?" I said back to Zidane and Freya.

"You're easily entertained." Zidane pointed out.

"I just try to have fun however I can." I told him. Call me a sensualist, but life just isn't worth living if all you did was focus on the bad parts of life. I tried to take joy from simple things, and traveling at 40 miles an hour in an open trolley was definitely fun.

But, like most fun things in life, the trolley ride was over too quickly. The trolley slowed to a halt and we docked at the Dragon's Gate.

"Come on." Zidane encouraged. "We need to keep moving."

Freya popped the door open on her side and we all walked out. Freya and Zidane stepped out first. Vivi adjusted his hat as he stepped out next and I had to fix my hair for a moment before stepping onto the trolley's platform. At the very least, the ride was able to dry my hair from when I fell into the fountain earlier. I pulled it all back behind my neck and followed the others.

"There's the gate." Freya said as she walked off to the right towards the large door.

The area here looked a little newer than the terminal at the base of the elevator. The walls were made of wood and looked like they were well kept. The actual gate in Dragon's Gate was a large, fifteen foot high set of double doors in the shape of a half oval. This place, despite being the only route from the castle to the plains below the mist, was actually pretty small and empty. My guess was that no one wanted to be around here under the risk of mist monsters appearing suddenly.

Freya led the way out towards the door. A pair of guards were standing by the doors, spears held by their sides at attention. They didn't pay us any mind as we walked passed them and ventured into the plains.

Once we were outside the castle, the difference in climate became immediately noticeable. The mist was so think that I could barely see 50 feet ahead of myself.

"Freya, slow down." Zidane said suddenly, drawing my attention to him. "We'll lose track of you."

"You should walk faster." she replied.

"If we get separated in this mist we'll never find each other!" Zidane said back.

Freya stopped in place and turned to face him. "While we waste time here, Burmecia is being destroyed. I won't stall and do nothing while my people are being killed."

Vivi and I did what we could to stay out of their little argument, but made sure we stayed close enough to see them easily. Getting separated from each other right after leaving Lindblum would be ridiculous.

"Freya, I know you're worried, but you have to be patient." Zidane explained. "The entire nation won't fall in one night. Besides, Burmecia has the Dragon Knights! You know that!"

The Dragon Knights were the most powerful warriors in Burmecia. Similar to a Special Ops team in America, they were the soldiers who had the strongest skills and were sent out for the more difficult missions, like defending the country from invaders. And Freya should have remembered them, considering she was one of them.

"I know Zidane, but-"

A loud, almost metallic sounding roar resonated in the air, cutting Freya off as she spoke. Whatever made the sound was close. It was probably no farther than a few hundred feet away.

"That sounded like an Ironite" Freya said suddenly. "Get ready." She pulled her spear from off her back and swept her foot back in a battle stance. Zidane flipped the two halves of the Ogre off of his belt and connected them together and balanced himself. Vivi pulled out his staff and held onto it nervously. I did the same and pulled my short swords out, twirling them in my hands before sinking down into a battle stance of my own. We stood back to back in the shape of a square, keeping an eye out in all directions. Freya was behind me, Zidane was to my right and Vivi, my left.

"Anyone see anything?" I asked.

"Quiet!" Freya snapped.

Although being scolded like that annoyed me, she was right. Since we couldn't see the Ironite, we had to use sound to tell where it was. I didn't know about the others, but I probably wasn't going to be much help. Whenever I thought I hear something, I couldn't tell which direction it was from. I would just have to rely on my reflexes to get me out of this one.

The field was quiet as we stood still. Maybe the Ironite didn't know we were around. Maybe it wasn't even out hunting for anything; it was just roaring for the sake of roaring.

And maybe I wasn't slowly going insane in Lindblum earlier that day.

"DUCK!" came Zidane's voice. Without a second though, my hands hit the ground and I dropped to one knee. Half a second later, a big pink dragon swooped only a few feet over our heads. It flew over us and soared back into the mist again.

"That was definitely an Ironite." I stated.

"We need to wait until it comes back out." Freya said.

Although I knew a lot about Final Fantasy IX, I didn't know everything. Ironites were one of the things I didn't know much about. I knew they were big pink dragons and could probably bite and scratch really badly, but beyond that, I didn't remember much. Unfortunately, that also meant that I didn't remember any of their attacks.

Seconds passed before any sign of the Ironite came around again. We all stood in place, watching around ourselves in case the dragon tried to flank us, but focusing on where it disappeared. Like before, no one said anything, lest we draw the Ironite out prematurely.

Suddenly, a bright red light flash in the air in front of us and started growing in diameter. It looked like an alien death ray at first, but then I realized-

"Get out of the way!" I yelled as I leapt to the side. I fell into a tumble, picking myself up several feet away form where I was standing. I looked back and saw that Zidane had jumped the other way and Freya had leapt to the right like I had. Vivi had managed to scuttle back a few feet, taking him out of range of the Ironite's attack.

Seconds later, the area we had all been standing in was engulfed in flame, shot out from the red spot in the sky. The field was soon washed over in a think red fire, covering everything in a scorching heat. The fire in the field burned for a few short seconds before drying up and disappearing in a plume of smoke. Apparently, Ironites could breath fire. Big surprise there.

The stream of fire lasted only a few seconds. It stopped quickly and was replaced by silence for a moment. Suddenly, when it was done, there was a loud, wet thud across the field. I held my weapons at the ready as the Ironite crawled out of the mist and headed towards us on its feet.

The Ironite was a large pink dragon, probably fifteen or twenty feet from head to foot. It looked no different from a normal dragon, except for its wings. A normal dragon would have its wings spread out at its sides proudly like a bat, but an Ironite's wings would circle back and reconnect at its wrists, making the beast look somewhat circular. If we could just cut the wing at the wrists, we could disable its ability to fly.

"Everyone go!" Zidane yelled, signaling for us to attack. He rushed in with the Ogre held high, wielding it at his side. Freya rushed in, holding her spear in front of herself and Vivi charged up a spell. Not one to be left out of a good fight, I rushed in after Freya, holding one short sword out to my right side for offense and the other in front of me for defense.

As we closed the distance between the Ironite and ourselves, the dragon reared up on its hind legs. It brought its arm back to swipe at us, but Zidane was the only one close enough. I skidded to a halt reflexively, but Freya kept moving on. As the Ironite's clawed hand came down, I winced at Zidane and Freya's lack of action to avoid the hit, but at the last second, but my fears were proven unfounded.

Zidane defended himself from the blow but placing the Ogre between himself and the Ironite's attack. The dragon's hand came into contact with Zidane's blade and knocked the thief to the side. I threw a glance over at Zidane and saw him roll along the ground, yards away from the battle. He had bounced a little, but other than that, he looked fine.

"Zidane!" I called out.

"I'm fine." he called back as he stopped rolling and stood up again, somewhat shakily. "Just focus on the Ironite!"

I turned my attention back to the big pink dragon just in time to see Freya's assault. She leapt through the air towards the monster with her spear held out in front, tilted slightly to the left. As she neared the Ironite, she pulled back and swung hard into its side, cutting deep into its skin. Freya landed feet first onto the monster's side and pivoted, kicking off and landing a safer distance a few feet away.

The Ironite reeled in pain from Freya's attack. It collapsed on its wounded side and barked in pain. Its cries were short lived however as a fireball exploded in its face, stunning it for the moment. I turned around and saw Vivi pushing his staff towards the dragon. He had used a Fire spell to disorient it.

Now it was my turn.

Gathering my courage, I ran towards the Ironite laying on the ground and leapt up onto its head. I landed with a grunt from the Ironite and myself. Ignoring it, I jumped the short distance down its back. I reached the wings at its sides almost instantly. My original idea was to clip its wings at the wrists, but with the Ironite currently out of it, another plan jumped into my head. There wasn't any bone supporting the wing anywhere except for the outside edge. I smiled as I bent to my left side to put my plan into action.

I brought my right short sword back cut into the thin membrane of the dragon's left wing, resulting in a troubled roar from the monster. I swung my entire body along with the attack, getting as much momentum as I could for the next part of my attack. As the first short sword cleared the wing, my other short sword came down to continue the attack. The first part of the attack had cut through only half of the wing. As the second short sword bit into the Ironite's wing, it finished cutting through the rest of the membrane. All that was left was the thin bone, more or less holding up the ruined wing. I swung my right short sword over my head and cut through the lightweight bone in a single swipe like it was a twig.

I felt the Ironite thrash in pain from underneath myself. I knelt down to keep myself from falling off, but I felt something else move behind me.

"Good plan." came a voice.

I turned around and saw Freya standing on the wing behind me. In the same move that I had, she brought her spear up and cut through the Ironite's right wing in a single slash, including the bone. Now, it had no way of flying. Both of its wings were cut and hanging limply off of its wrists.

The Ironite started bucking all around in pain. Blood seeped from the wounds as it rolled around in spasms. Not wanting to stay on the monster's back any longer than we had to, Freya and I jumped off, landing a few feet away from it. I landed on my hands and knees and quickly turned around to keep an eye on it.

As soon as I looked, I saw Zidane running towards it. He held the Ogre high and threw a strong blow straight down into the back of Ironite's neck. The blade cut through the skin and reached part way into the bone, resulting in a loud cracking sound. Zidane withdrew his blade and thrust it down again, harder this time. The blade cut through the spine and went halfway through the back of the Ironite's neck this time. It fell, very dead and bleeding profusely from the gap in its neck. The blood quickly pooled around the corpse. The whole mess would be enough to feed a scavenger for weeks.

With the fight done, we started walking one way away from the Ironite, north to Gizamaluke's Grotto. It was still a day away, so we needed all the time we could get. Everyone sheathed their weapons as we walked away from the dead dragon.

"We need to keep moving." Freya said. "Burmecia is still days away."

"No rest for the weary?" I joked. I felt fine actually, but taking a small break didn't seem like a bad idea.

"We can't rest here. Monsters will be drawn to the smell of blood." Zidane explained. "They think it's an easy feast. Didn't you know that?"

"Uhh… yeah." I lied. I tried to back out of the conversation by walking a little slower behind Zidane and Freya, lest any more questions were brought up concerning how much I really knew about Gaia. Vivi caught up to me as I slowed down, so I walked alongside him.

"Good job in the fight back there Vivi." I said.

"Thanks." he said quietly. "But I didn't do much. I just used a Fire spell."

"And that was enough to stun it so I could jump onto its back." I told him. "If you didn't do that, I would've stood around being useless. I don't have as much battle experience as Zidane or Freya, so I'm always a little cautious about going in to battle." I rested my hands on the hilts of my short swords as I walked. "It's all about teamwork."

"You're not useless!" Vivi defended. "You've always been really helpful. I wish I was brave enough to attack a monster head on like you."

I blinked a few times, unsure if I heard Vivi right at first. I didn't really consider myself to be all that brave. Perhaps it was because I was more concerned with saving my friends than being brave, but there was a nice ring to what Vivi had told me.

"Thanks Vivi." I said with a chuckle. I smooshed his hat down on his head playfully as we walked. Vivi gave a small gasp, but soon started laughing light heartedly. He adjusted his hat and looked up at me thankfully.

_These guys are great._ I thought to myself. _I didn't think Vivi could help me feel better that easily. I'll just need to get stronger and-_

"_You're weak_."

I froze in place as I heard the same voice from Lindblum echo in my head. I looked around hurriedly, unsure of how strong whoever was following me was. Whoever it was, had followed us from Lindblum.

"What…?" I said quietly in disbelief as I scanned the field. Aside from Zidane, Freya and Vivi, there was nothing around. All I could see was mist. My pulse increased as I searched desperately for whoever or whatever had spoken to me. There was a slight ringing in my ears as I concentrated as hard as I could for any sight or sound of him.

"Trevor?" Zidane asked from the front of the pack. "Is everything alright?"

I breathed harder, unable to stay calm. Knowing that there was someone out there who could probably kill me at any time was really unnerving. It was almost like I had a stalker after me.

"Yeah… fine." I told Zidane. I knew I had a little wavering in my voice, so I cleared my throat with a cough and stood up straighter. I looked directly at Zidane and started walking to catch up to him and the others, who had all kept walking while I stood still, looking for the source of the voice. "It's nothing. Let's just keep going."

"_You have no idea what you're dealing with_." came the voice again. My eyes shot open as I took a quick glance around me. "_I'm taking over!_"

I felt my pulse increase in my chest I worry started to overcome me. I had no idea what to do or how to defend myself. My pulse became louder as it beat faster. Panic wasn't going to help me, but for some reason, I couldn't help myself as my senses started to overwhelm me.

"Trevor…?" Vivi asked as he looked at me, clearly concerned for me. I saw his head tilt slightly, indicating that he was still talking, but I couldn't hear him. My heartbeat was so loud that it drowned out all other sound. Pretty soon, it started interfering with my vision. Everything pulsed white as I stared ahead, trying to stop what was happening.

"Guys…" I said, but was cut off as the most intense pain shot it's way into the base of my neck and traveled to my head. A blanket seemed to envelope my head as pain wove in and out of every corner of my brain. Then it got worse.

It felt like there were hundreds of explosions going off inside my head. A large headache started to swell all over as I gripped my head at the temples in agonizing pain. I stumbled as I attempted to stay standing, but my legs buckled underneath me, sending me down to my knees. With no other way to relieve the pain, I screamed. Very loudly.

"Ahhhh! AAAHHHHHH!!!!!"

"Trevor! Are you okay!?!" Zidane called back.

I raised my head to look at him. The biting pain in my head drove me to the edge. It almost felt like something was trying to drill its way out of my brain. I wouldn't have been surprised if I started bleeding from my eyes and ears. The pain was too much. I clawed at the ground in desperation.

"My head… is killing me…" I yelled between gasps of pain. "Make it stop… MAKE IT STOP!!!"

As I looked at my friends, begging for their help, my vision started to mold into a translucent red.

The world started bleeding…

The Old Men

The old men both watched Trevor's agony in delight from their dark room. A projected image of their experiment came up in the center of the room. The first old man nodded to his cohort. The second old man nodded back.

"I told you he would work Hart." the second old man said.

"Fine, so you were right." the first old man, Hart, said. He brushed what little hair he had left on his head back.

Trevor's eyes glowed a soft red and he was breathing quickly, clearly in a panic.

"I was beginning to think Kaiten wouldn't work with him." Hart said.

"You worry too much." said the second old man. "Considering his past, he was perfect."

"Perhaps." Hart said. "But now we have to worry about him following the others. He may be driven completely insane."

"That's your problem now." the second old man said. "Now that he's gotten this far, I have more important matters that must be dealt with."

With that, the second old man turned around and walked towards the door. The wall shifted to one side and he walked out of the room. With him gone, Hart turned back to the projection of Trevor, suffering, gripping his head in a psychotic amount of pain.

"Now, mortal, what are you going to do next?"

Zidane

"Make it stop… MAKE IT STOP!!!" Trevor cried out.

Trevor looked up at the rest of us in incredible pain. He was clawing at the ground so hard that he was leaving scratch marks an inch deep in the dirt, screaming horrifically as he grabbed at his head.

"Trevor! Calm down! Tell us what's wrong!" I tried to reason. I didn't know if it was futile or not, considering how Trevor was acting, but right now, anything was worth trying.

Trevor raised his head and looked at all of us, but then I noticed that the white of his eyes were blood red. A tear ran down his cheek as he looked at us, not in fear or as a request for help, but in anger. His teeth were gritted shut and his brow was furrowed in rage.

"Back off!" he growled. He stopped screaming in pain, but it was replaced with a low growl, like an enraged Fang. "Don't come any closer!"

"Trevor," Freya said calmly. She held her hands up to calm him down and took a step towards him. "What's wrong? Just talk to us."

Trevor grabbed one of his short swords hanging at his belt and drew it so quickly that I could barely see it. Then, just as fast, he flicked it in his hands and held it in front of his chest with the grip reversed.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!!" he roared. He held his short sword over his head, then thrust it into the ground right in front of himself. There was a low hum for half a second before the ground exploded around him. Dirt, smoke and mist were scattered into the air in a small cloud, blocking our view of him. I covered my eyes as the smoke flowed through the air all around us.

"Trevor!" I called out. "What are you doing!?!"

There wasn't any response. I could hear Freya muttering something under her breath and Vivi coughing close to me, but there was nothing from Trevor.

After a few moments, the smoke started to clear on its own. I flapped my arms around to clear it faster and started walking to get closer to where Trevor was. Walking blindly in the smoke wasn't easy by any means, but since Trevor was in trouble somehow, I still tried to get to him. Perhaps it would have been better if he stayed in Lindblum, but there wasn't any time to think about it. I pressed through the thick cloud to get to him.

The cloud of dirt and smoke smelled like burned soil as I pressed deeper into it. It was still hanging in the air by the time I got to where Trevor was a minute ago. I swung an arm out to him as I coughed in the thick air.

"Trevor! (_Cough_) Grab my hand!"

I reached out to grab him, swinging my arm around to feel for him, but I only felt air. I reached again, farther this time, but didn't grab anything again.

"Zidane!" came Freya's voice outside of the smoke cloud. "How is he? Is he alright?"

I reached deeper into the cloud once more, squinting as I did, but didn't grab anything. Try as I might, Trevor didn't seem to be anywhere.

"Trevor!" I called out as loud as I could.

_C'mon. Be alright._

Fortunately, the smoke started to clear away finally. Sunlight started to shine through the smoke and dirt and cast light all over. I could even see Vivi and Freya at the edge of the cloud. I turned back to the cloud, but didn't see Trevor anywhere. I looked back and forth through the cloud, but after a minute, I knew my search was in vain.

Trevor was gone.


	21. Kaiten

Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story. But I do own Trevor and his new friend. ;)

Author's note: Back in Chapter 9 A New Face, I introduced three new OC's into the story and had Trevor injected with a strange substance which led to several berserker moments for him in combat, as well as a loss of his control of his anger at certain times. That chapter was the beginning of everything for Trevor.

So what do you think happened to Trevor? Was he introduced to a new type of chemical which brought him to anger? Was it some sort of drug? And what's with the voice he's been hearing? Were the old men monitoring him or was someone else, unknown to everyone, stalking him? Or was the voice merely his own subconscious brought on by the injection he was given? And for that matter, what happened to him after he ran from Zidane and the others in the King Ed Plains? And why exactly is this story called Shattered Mind?

All those questions will be answered now…

Chapter 21- Kaiten

----------------

A house caught on fire.

A field covered in blood.

Screaming.

That's all I could remember from my dream. Or rather, my nightmare. As I pushed myself off of the cold, wet ground, I got the distinct feeling that I had been at that house before, but it all became a blur as soon as I woke up, as dreams usually do. My head still hurt from earlier. It wasn't nearly as intense as before. I just had a dull ache everywhere. I brought my hands up to my temples and tried to subdue the headache, but that was about as successful as stopping a tank with a toothpick.

I slowly remembered what had happened earlier as I looked around.

_Make it stop… MAKE IT STOP!!!_

_Trevor! Calm down! Tell us what's wrong!_

_Back off! Don't come any closer!_

_Trevor, what's wrong? Just talk to us._

_GET AWAY FROM ME!!!_

Then there was an explosion. I didn't remember anything else after that. My short swords were still by my sides, sheathed. I still had my canteen, my backpack and my pouch of money as well. Whatever happened to me now left me tired, cold and worse, alone.

The only thing that I could see around me was mist, mist and more mist. There weren't any landmarks in sight, and Zidane, Freya and Vivi were nowhere to be found.

"Zidane!" I called out, desperate for some human contact. "Freya! …Vivi?"

I was all alone in the plains. I didn't know where I was or how long it would take me to find anything. I didn't even know if I would ever catch up to the others and help them save the world. Although, at this point I was more concerned with being found and getting out of the mist.

Standing around and waiting to be found wasn't going to get me anywhere. If they were smart, Zidane and the others would have continued to Burmecia without me. I was as good as lost and they didn't have enough time to waste looking for me.

_Okay, calm down._ I told myself. _Just concentrate and find the right way to go._

I closed my eyes and tried to get the best sense of direction that I could, but I was quickly brought out of my thoughts by an echoing burst of laughter.

…The same laugh from the voice that spoke to me in Lindblum.

"_You cross-stitch_?" the voice asked.

"What?" I asked, startled that it came back. "Who the hell are you!"

"_And you tried to learn to dance? Pathetic_."

"How do you know that?" I cried out.

The voice laughed before answering. "_I can read your memories_." it answered sinisterly.

What the voice had been saying was true. I was working on a cross-stitch for my girlfriend's birthday before I was sucked into Gaia, but we broke up before it was finished, so I just kept working on it for the hell of it. I also took a dance class a few years ago. It seemed like a good skill to have one day and it helped my footwork in combat. Useful in more than one way.

"Are you the one who dragged me away from the others?" I demanded.

Again, the voice laughed before answering. "_Yeah. I tried to gain total control, but apparently I can only take over for a short period of time_."

"What the hell is your problem?!? Why did you do that?"

"_I was just bored, I guess_."

I felt a surge of anger build up. This time however, I knew it wasn't because of the injection that I had been given. It was my own, natural anger reacting. I grabbed the hilts of my short swords and drew them quickly.

"If you're so bored, then why don't you come out and fight?" I offered everywhere around me. I held my blades defensively, unsure where the first attack was going to coming from. If this guy was really using telepathy to talk to me, he could come from anywhere.

"_No, I don't think so_." the voice said. "_Even if we could fight, I have several more years of experience than you in combat. You wouldn't last five seconds_."

"That's all the time I'd need to cut your throat open!" I yelled. "Now stop hiding and come out!"

"_I'm not hiding_."

"Then why can't I see you?!" I said, impatient to get our fight underway.

"_Because to do that, you'd have to turn your eyes inside out_."

I stopped as he said that. It didn't make any sense at first, until the thought of him literally being inside my head came to me. But that was impossible… right?

"_What did you think the injection you got in Dali was_?" the voice taunted. "_Some 'angry juice' that pumped you up for combat? A simple drug? Don't make me laugh_."

I had made a few guesses as to what that was. My best guess was that I was given a massive increase in testosterone, which caused my sudden outbursts of anger, but this was more twisted than I had ever imagined. "Then what did-"

"_They injected my soul into you_!" he interrupted. "_We're both intertwined within your body!_ _Haven't you figured that out yet?_"

The new information hit me too hard. I had someone's soul stuck in my head. Of all the messed up things that could have happened to me, why did it have to be this? It all seemed too surreal to be true. I leaned forward and put my hands on my knees. It felt like I was going to throw up.

"What are you?" I asked desperately.

"_I'm a Terran special forces soldier_." the voice explained. "_The last survivor of the Ckelen-te-Clu assault_."

"Special forces?" I repeated. "I have the soul of a Terran soldier stuck in my head?"

"_My name is Kaiten Saeis_." the voice said. "_First Lieutenant of the Special Tactics Squad of Olesta_."

"Kaiten?" I said. The name seemed somehow familiar. I seemed to recall hearing it a few days prior in Dali.

Flashback

"_He will work." the second voice repeated._

"_Get off of me!" I yelled. One of my captors grabbed my hair and pulled it down, hard._

"_Listen boy, we need you to get angrier."_

"_Only your rage is useful to us."_

My rage? What?

"_What are you talking about?" I asked. "Get the hell off me!"_

_My hair was pulled to the side, exposing the back of my neck._

"_GET THE HELL OFF!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs._

_Something was pushed against the back of my neck. It felt like a plastic circle._

"_Welcome to your new home Kaiten."_

_A second later, something that felt like a needle pierced the skin and pushed its way into my spine…_

End Flashback

I didn't think anything of it at the time, but now it made perfect sense. This was all what the old men had planned. They only used me as a host to inject a soul into. But one thing still didn't make sense-

"The old men who did this said that they needed my rage." I said as I addressed the voice. "If all they did was inject a soul into me, then why have I been getting that way?"

"_You mean those times you were going insane during that festival the other day_?" Kaiten asked. "_That was me, trying to take over_."

"The other day!?" I asked, worried about yet another development. "How long was I running?"

"We _were running the whole night_." came the response. "_We're one now. Remember that, partner."_

"Partner?" I asked, disgusted by the word. "How are you my partner? You're stuck in my head and you possessed me into running away from my friends! How are you possibly my partner!?!"

"_Think about how you've been fighting lately_." the voice said calmly. "_Do you think that was all you? …Don't be an idiot! I've been helping you ever since I was shot into the back of your neck_."

I didn't like this guy. He was snide and his echoing voice sounded like an evil version of myself. Yet, I couldn't help but realize that he was right. It was sometime after the incident in Dali that I noticed my fighting style go into a rising spike. I thought I was just getting better at fighting, or maybe I was leveling up. The thought of benefiting from that event in that way didn't cross my mind.

"_You should thank me for all I've done_." the voice sneered.

I cocked an eyebrow at this. "Thank you? You've been freaking me out what with all your disembodied speech! And I'll bet you're the one who put those images of bloodlust in my head!"

"_Some of my own memories did manage to get loose. Don't worry though, those were the lighter ones._" he said, followed by a laugh. "_But you've got to admit, some of them were pretty cool_."

"You're insane." I pointed out.

"_Come on. Don't be like that_." Kaiten said. "_We're in this together, so we might as well make the best of it_." He gave another small laugh at the end of it.

"Hey, let's get one thing straight! This is my body, so I'm in charge."

"_Fine by me_." he said. "_Just make sure to let me out to have some fun every once in a while_."

"You really are insane, aren't you?" I asked. "You think I'll let you take over my body again after you made me freak out around the others and run off like that?"

"_Why not_?" Kaiten asked. "_You've already started using my magic_."

_Magic?_ That was the second time someone told me that I had used magic. Dante told me once after we landed in the Business District. I didn't know what he was talking about then, and I didn't know what Kaiten was talking about now.

"What magic?" I asked. "You mean that time during the Festival? I just broke open a window."

"_Nope_." Kaiten corrected. "_You used Pulse. That's one of my tricks_."

I was about to ask him more about it, but a small gurgle sounded from a few feet away. I looked back and saw a Hedgehog Pie jumping up and down excitedly towards me. Its rounded pink body didn't make it seem that dangerous, but the purple quills on its back made it seem otherwise. It gnashed its teeth at me as it slowly came closer.

"_Easier to show than to tell_." Kaiten said. "_Thrust your blade into that thing's chest. I'll explain it from there_."

To say that I didn't trust Kaiten was an understatement. He came out of nowhere, somehow abducted me, and now tried to appeal to my good side. I had no idea who this guy was, but he seemed a little insane. Still, I was going to have to kill the Hedgehog Pie before it did the same to me, and being able to learn magic might have been useful. With it, I might not get so badly injured in combat as often.

"Fine." I agreed. "But like I said, this is my body, so I'm in control."

"_Whatever. Just gather your energy in your chest._"

"What? How do I do that?"

The Hedgehog Pie made the first move. It ran a short distance towards me, then jumped high into the air. It looked like it was trying to do a belly flop, so I just stepped back a few feet to get out of the way. My short swords were still in my hands from when I unsheathed them earlier, so I could've killed the monster at any time, but first I wanted to make sure that I did the move right.

"_You used to do Tai Chi, right_?" Kaiten asked. "_From what I can get from your memories, it's the same feeling."_

"Tai Chi?"

Even though I hadn't done it in a while, I could still remember the feeling I always got when I practiced my form. I took a deep breath and relaxed myself, calming my mind as best I could.

Chi, it turns out, is real, but it's not some mystical force like shooting lasers out of your palms, even though Kaiten's technique suggested otherwise. Chi is actually medical. It's the sensation of the blood vessels in one's body widening, allowing for more oxygen to flow to the muscles, giving strength. I wasn't sure how it worked, but I've seen some pretty amazing things done with it. If what Kaiten was telling me was the truth, then I basically knew how to gather the energy he was talking about. I held my arms at my sides and started swinging them lazily back and forth against my stomach and back…

The Hedgehog Pie, however, was getting impatient. It started another attack and rolled itself into a chubby ball covered in spikes. It rolled in place for a few seconds before spinning out down the field towards me. I caught it out of the corner of my eye at the last second and jumped over the monster's fat ball form. I landed softly and continued swinging my arms, relaxing further.

"_Are you ready yet_?" Kaiten asked impatiently.

"Almost." I told him. "Just a few more seconds to be safe."

The Hedgehog Pie stopped its roll and uncurled itself. It growled again and leapt high into the air, intent on doing another belly flop. I stopped swinging my arms and looked up at its gut heading down to me. In a fraction of a second, my short sword was up, pointing at the descending monster. Half a second later, it landed on the tip of my blade. The momentum of its attack drove it to the ground, but I managed to keep my blade in its stomach and pulled it down beside my feet, struggling to get back at me.

"Now what?"

"_Send the energy down the sword and let it disperse at the tip_."

I grunted in acknowledgement and gathered the Chi in my chest and willed it forward into my hands, where I pressed it into the blade resting inside the still struggling monster. I could feel the dull energy enter the blade, just like before in the air cab. It gathered into the tip in a collected point and I released it all at once. A small shockwave centered around the sword tip cut through the monster's insides, traveling outwards in a jagged circle, like a bent up buzz saw blade. Its two halves slid apart, revealing a gory cross-section of the little monster.

"Ugh. Gross."

"_This coming from a guy who sliced open the still beating heart of a Zaghnol_."

With the Hedgehog Pie dead, I flicked the blood off of my short swords and sheathed them. I turned away from the monster. Now that I could fight with magic somewhat and I knew what was going on with my head, survival seemed a little easier.

"Not too bad, I think." I gloated, mostly at myself.

"_No, that was pretty bad_." he said. "_You were barely able to cut him apart! Work on your form next time._"

"Geez, sorry." I said with a roll of my eyes.

Now the next thing I had to worry about was finding a way back to the others. Unfortunately, none of the sights around me really helped. There was mist, grass, mist, mist, bleeding corpse of a very dead Hedgehop Pie, mist. Not a forest or river or anything I could use to identify location.

"Any idea where to go?" I asked Kaiten hopefully.

"_How should I know? I'm from Olesta_."

"Olesta? I thought you were from Terra."

"_Olesta is a country _on_ Terra, dumbass. Did you think it was all one unified place_?"

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" I asked indignantly. "It's not like I've ever been there!"

"_And I've never been to Gaia, so we're lost. Deal with it_." he snapped.

Sighing in defeat, I just started walking in no particular direction. If I headed in a straight line long enough, I might be able to find something to identify my location. I'd either hit mountains or the ocean, but I'd be able to tell where I was from that. As I stepped, a question formed in my head about Kaiten.

"Kaiten, you can read any of my memories about me, right?" I asked.

"_Yeah_." he responded.

"Then you know a lot about me, right?"

"_Bits and pieces. I can't read everything in a single day_."

"Well why not tell me about yourself?" I suggested a little harshly. "I'd like to know about the guy who's living in my head without my consent."

"_I have no reason to tell you anything_." he argued.

"Sure you do." I told him. "You're living in my head and you're reading my memories without my permission."

"_Well you're just going to have to deal with it_." he said arrogantly.

I was getting impatient with him. "Either tell me about yourself or I'll torture you."

"_You? Torture someone else? Gimme a break! You're probably the softest guy I've ever seen._"

I wasn't sure if I really could get back at him at all. Since he was stuck in my head, there wasn't much I could do. Going after him by physical means would just be masochism, so that was out. I didn't know anything about him and he clearly wasn't sensitive, so using psych warfare would be too hard. My last resort counted on whether or not he could hear my thoughts.

_Can you hear this?_ I thought.

"_Yeah, why?_" Kaiten asked.

I grinned with pride, knowing that my plan would work out. If he could hear my thoughts, then we could talk around the others and they wouldn't have to know about him. It seemed best that they didn't since it risked messing up the storyline even more than it already had been.

_Well, I know some really, really annoying songs, so if you don't start talking about yourself, I'm going to start singing them in my head as loudly as I can._

"_Hey, I've seen more combat and death than you could imagine._" Kaiten defended. "_I've put up with more annoying imbeciles and rejects than I can count. What makes you think an annoying song is going to make me talk_?"

_Alright. If you say so._

Then, to support my threat, I started playing the most annoying song I knew in my head.

_Celebrate good times, come on!_

_It's a celebration._

_Celebrate good times, come on!_

_Let's celebrate._

_We're going to have a good-_

"_Oh god! Stop! Enough already!!!_"

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me. Disco was always enough to drive anyone mad nowadays.

"_Fine_." Kaiten said angrily. "_What do you want to know_?"

A few questions presented themselves in my mind that I wanted to ask. What was Olesta like? What did he do in the Special Forces? How could his magic help me? What exactly was his type of magic? All of them were important in one way or another, but my curiosity laid in one other question.

"How did you wind up getting injected into my head?" I asked. "Why was I chosen as your host?"

There were a few seconds of silence. At first, I wasn't sure if Kaiten was going to answer.

"Kaiten-"

"_I don't know why you were picked_." he interrupted. "_You were probably just compatible. Souls can't just mix because you want them to_."

That made no progress in helping me figure everything out. I wondered if I would ever figure out why they chose me and how they found me. It might have had something to do with why I was sent to Gaia in the first place.

"_As for how I became encapsulated…_" Kaiten began. He paused before continuing. "_I was the leader of the strongest Special Forces division in Olesta's military. My men and I were sent to eliminate a man who was conducting sick experiments with people's souls. Terra was in a decline and he claimed to have a way to restore the planet, but sacrificed hundreds to no avail. We were ordered by the government of Olesta to eliminate him_."

I remembered the decline of Terra when it was revealed in Oeilvert. The game never revealed much about what exactly happened. Kaiten was the perfect chance I had to find out the events leading up to the planet's fall.

"_As soon as all ten of us made it inside, we were ambushed_." Kaiten continued. "_We were all either knocked out or killed. I'm not sure what happened to the others since I woke up hanging in a dungeon with a dozen hooks stuck in each of my arms, holding me in place. Soon after, the madman we were sent to kill showed up. He told me a little about his plan to save Terra and showed me some of the things he had done to my troops. DON'T EVEN THINK about asking what happened to them_."

Kaiten took a deep breath before continuing.

"_After I saw what happened to them, I was sent into a fury. I tried to kill the bastard before he could do any of them same to me, but one of his assistants shot me with a dart and paralyzed me. The last thing I saw was the bastard approaching me with a really big syringe. He stuck it into the back of my neck and I could feel him pulling my soul from my body. The next thing I knew, I was inside another body, looking at some production facility_."

"That must have been the underground factory in Dali." I explained. Being as sympathetic as I was, I wanted to do something to help Kaiten feel better. He gave a pretty enraged tale there. Even if he was kind of an ass, I could tell that he was definitely a good person at heart. With no better option in sight, I decided to encourage him the best way that I could see for someone in his position. Vengeance.

"Hey, cheer up!" I told him. "You're alive right? There's probably a way to get revenge on the guy, isn't there?"

"_Not much that I can see_." he said. "_First off, we'd need to find a way back to Terra. Then we'd have to find him and I'm not sure if he's still alive_."

"Well, I know that we're going to end up back on Terra eventually, so don't worry about that."

"_Back to Terra_?" Kaiten asked in a disbelieving tone. "_How do you intend to do that_?"

Kaiten wasn't going to be as friendly as I preferred until he knew he could trust me, and the only way that would happen would be if he knew the truth about Final Fantasy IX.

"We're going to unlock the seals at the Wind, Water, Earth and Fire Temples on Gaia and ride the current from the Shimmering Isle to Terra." I explained. "I know because I'm not from Gaia."

"_That sounds like an elaborate hoax_." Kaiten scoffed. "_How do I know you're telling the truth_?"

"Just read another one of my memories." I told him. "You'll see that this is all a video game where I come from."

I walked along in silence as Kaiten presumably went to check my memories to see if I was telling the truth. I took solace in the momentary silence, somewhat surprised that I had already told someone about myself truthfully. At least Kaiten wasn't going to assume that I was a preppy, upper class student from Alexandria University.

"_This is impossible_." he said after a minute. "_Are you saying that I don't really exist_?"

"Well, you obviously do." I said. "I'm not even supposed to be here and no one in the game had a soul injected into their spine, so I think something's going on. Whatever it is, it's very real."

"_So you think you know everything that's going to happen, don't you_?"

"Unless something comes along and drastically changes the storyline for everyone else, yeah, I do."

"…_What are you going to do now?_"

"Find my friends and save the world. What else?" I answered light-heartedly. I always wanted to be a hero.

"_Are you going to tell them about me?_" Kaiten asked in a serious tone. I stopped walking for a moment before answering him.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but no, I'm not." I said. "The story's going to get pretty bad, so the less they have to worry about, the better."

"_I see_."

"Sorry Kaiten, but it's not personal. I just don't want them worrying about me. My problems are my problems."

"_No, that's the smart thing to do_." Kaiten said, regaining his composure. "_There are enough loose pieces as it is. Don't worry about it_."

There was another gap of silence before either one of us talked. The mist just rolled on through the plains as I kept pressing forward towards wherever we were going.

"_So, this is all going to happen_?" Kaiten asked. "_We're going to make it to Terra_?"

"I'm going to be spinning like a top when we jump into the current over the Shimmering Isle." I joked with a smile.

"_Alright_." Kaiten sighed. "_I'll help you survive the trip there and you help me kill the bastard who did this to me_."

"Sounds good." I said, glad that Kaiten was becoming friendlier. "Who are you looking for?"

"_His name is Hart Innural_." Kaiten explained. "_If he's still alive, I want to be the one to drive a sword through his neck_."

"Got it." I agreed. At least I had someone to talk to while I tried to find our way back to the others. I still didn't really trust Kaiten, but I was wiling to be friendly in order to make our forced time together bearable.

----------------

It was another hour of walking before we found anything close to a landmark. Kaiten and I spent the time talking about small things, like where we were from. Olesta sounded like an odd version of Earth. There were more airships and magic was prominent, but it was basically the same society. Kaiten described his home as a house set along a river in a forest, away from most people. He lived alone so that he could practice training in peace and solitude. I made a joke about how he had to put up with a roommate now and he swore he'd kill me as soon as he got a new body.

Fortunately, our hopes paid off when a few trees became clearer in the distance. As we came closer, the trees seemed to clear away the mist around them, revealing a small forest. I still didn't know exactly where we were, but it was better than nothing.

"Well, it's a start, right?"

"_You have no idea where we are, do you_?"

"No, not really."

Although this was the first sign of anything we came across, it didn't do much to help out. There was too much mist outside of the forest to identify anything well enough, meaning we were still just as lost as we were before.

"Well, let's go in anyway." I suggested. "I'm getting pretty hungry and there might be a fruit tree somewhere around here."

"_Ever the hopeful one, aren't you_?"

"Hey, it's that or I starve. I didn't get much to eat yesterday aside from breakfast and a bread roll." I explained. "And if I die, you die."

"_What a grim assessment_." Kaiten said sarcastically. "_If that happened, then I wouldn't be able to find out how you managed to embarrass yourself on your first date_."

"Stay out of my private memories!!!"

"_No. I'm bored_."

The trees in the forest stretched high above me. There weren't any paths to speak of, so I spent my time hurdling over bushes and tree roots, nearly falling over on several occasions. There wasn't much in the way of fruit around, so my stomach just growled as I walked along. If it wasn't for that one bread roll I had the other night, I would have been crawling by now. After walking through the trees for a while, I eventually found a small clearing.

"Bloody hell I'm hungry." I complained when I stepped into the clearing. I rubbed my stomach, trying to keep the hunger pains down.

"_Maybe you should ask the people around here for help_." Kaiten said.

"People?" I asked, looking back and forth over the area. "Who are you talking about? I don't see anyone."

"_Look down_."

I gazed down, somehow expecting to see something ridiculous, like a family of helpful ants or something. Unfortunately, there was only grass.

"I don't get it." I told him.

"_Geez you're unobservant_." Kaiten pointed out. "_The grass is compacted and short. Someone's been walking around here, and recently. We just need to find them and ask for help_."

"…Oh." I said, surprised that he knew something like that. "Good job."

"_When you've been in military training since you were ten, you tend to pick things like this up_."

"That reminds me," I started. "How old are you supposed to be? You sound like you're my age, but you were a lieutenant in a military group, so it doesn't really make sense to me."

"_If you must know, I'm twenty_." he replied. "_And with my unique brand of magic, it wasn't hard to get that many promotions_."

"Remind me to join the military when this is all done." I joked. "I've always wanted to be a colonel or a lieutenant."

Suddenly, there was a voice behind me. "Trevor? Is that you?"

My breath got caught in my throat as I heard the familiar voice. I had all but given up the idea of being found by any of my friends, so actually being found was somewhat like a miracle. I turned around and faced the person talking to me.

"Dagger?"

The Alexandrian princess was standing on the other side of the clearing. Steiner was standing right behind her, watching over her protectively.

_Kaiten,_ I said in my thoughts. _I know where we are._

----------------

That was a fun chapter for me. I changed my writing style a little bit, but I think it's for the better. Let me know if you agree.

Also, the song I used in the middle of the chapter was 'Celebration' by Kool and the Gang. I just thought I'd say that since I don't want to get sued.

Kaiten does have a full and complete history and will get to tell his story someday. It'll be a lot more in depth than what you saw here, so wait for it. It'll be good, I swear. I hope he goes over well enough with everyone. In the meantime, leave a review if you if you enjoy him and his witty/insane banter.


	22. Unexpected Reunion

Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's note: Well, I'm back in college (groan), so updates may be a little more erratic for a while. I'll try to maintain a two week update schedule as closely as I can, but these psych classes can be extremely demanding, you know? Anyway, I'm sure it won't take me more than a month to update. If it does, send me a PM telling me to get back to work, alright?

And if you've got time, you should all go check out FFIX: The Return of the Queen by Solark. It good. Really good. He manages to catch detail even better than me. Even if you don't have enough time, you should go check it out. It's worth it.

Chapter 22- Unexpected Reunion.

----------------

I thought that after a while, I would've caught up to Zidane and the others. Given enough time, I could've found them by the time they got to Burmecia, or at least, Cleyra. I never would've guessed that I would have caught up to Dagger and Steiner. Hell, I thought they would've reached South Gate by now. Running into them was just short of a miracle.

"How did you find us?" Dagger asked. "We thought you were going to Burmecia."

"I was… but I got separated from the others," I explained.

"_Who's the babe_?" Kaiten asked suddenly.

_Garnet Til Alexandros_. I said to Kaiten. _Princess of Alexandria, so show some respect_.

"What are you doing out here?" Dagger asked. "Gizamaluke's Grotto is probably a day away from here."

"Geez…" I let out. "Just my luck to wind up like this."

"Are you alright?"

"If you mean if I'm hurt, then no." I told her. Before I could say anything more, my stomach interrupted right on time with a loud rumble. "…But do you have any food?"

"We have some provisions," Steiner said. "Mostly gysahl pickles."

My face contorted as I heard him say that. I knew he was planning to use a giant bag of gysahl pickles to smuggle Dagger across the border, but I had hoped that they had brought along more food than that. Gysahl pickles smelled way too disgusting for someone to eat.

"What's with that look?" Steiner asked. "Gysahl pickles are delicious!"

"If you say so…"

With my reluctant agreement, Steiner pulled out a very large sack big enough to stuff a person in and began rooting around for a pickle. My stomach growled at the thought of food being so close, even if it was the most evil type of pickle there was.

"_Who's the fat guy_?" Kaiten asked suddenly.

…_How can a guy living in my head who can read my memories not know who my friends are?_

"_I told you, I can't read all your memories at once. Now who is he?_"

I rolled my eyes as I answered. _Captain Adelbert Steiner. Head of the Knights of Pluto, the "elite" Alexandrian guard._

"_You sure know how to pick the weird ones to hang out with_."

_Like you?_

"-vor?"

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?" Dagger asked. "You weren't responding a second ago."

"Oh, I'm fine," I said. "I was just lost in thought." I told her before grumbling inwardly at Kaiten.

"You may want some bread with this as well." Steiner said, handing over a foul-smelling pickle. Just like in Lindblum, it smelled like some sort of manure, but right now I wasn't in the mood to be picky. I was way to hungry to afford acting stupid like that. I simply reached out and took the pickle form Steiner.

_Here goes nothing_.

I took a reluctant bite out of the end of the pickle, expecting to gag on it. Surprisingly though, it didn't taste that bad. Far from it, it tasted great! Something like a regular pickle, but with the slightest hint of salt as well. I took a few more bites out of it, actually enjoying it.

"You're pretty hungry." Dagger pointed out.

"I haven't eaten since yesterday." I told her, finishing the pickle in one last bite.

"I told you they were good." Steiner gloated.

"But they're not very filling," I said. Steiner preempted me by handing over another pickle. Ignoring the smell, I shoveled it into my mouth and ate most of it in one bite.

"It seems like good enough a time as any to sit down and eat as well." Dagger said, sitting down on her heels in the grass. I mumbled something in agreement and fell to the ground with one leg out in front of myself. Steiner stayed standing, but somehow I thought it was because he couldn't sit down. Even if he could, his heavy armor would have made it a true labor to stand up again.

Within minutes, Dagger, Steiner and myself were sitting together and having something of a picnic. We didn't really say much of anything. I was too busy making sure I didn't starve to death and Steiner, who obviously still didn't trust me, kept a wary eye on me at all times. After a while, I asked something that I had to ask for the sake of keeping up my cover story.

"So, where are you two going now?" I asked between bites of bread and pickle.

"We're going back to Alexandria," Dagger said with more determination than I had seen her show thus far. "I will talk to Mother and find out exactly what's going on."

I merely stared at Dagger in concern before returning to my food. "That's courageous of you, but how are you going to convince her to stand down if she's really at fault for attacking Burmecia?"

"That's not true!" Dagger yelled back. "She couldn't have attacked Burmecia! There must be another explanation…" She gripped her hands tightly in her lap as she gazed down at the ground. It looked like she was about to cry.

Knowing that she couldn't be deterred, or for that matter, shouldn't be deterred, I didn't press the argument any further. Dagger was very naïve and needed that quality for the rest of the story. Instead, I finished my food and stood up. I rested my hands on the hilts of my short swords and looked down at her.

"If you're that determined, then I guess I can't stop you," I told her. Dagger looked up at me curiously, still sitting. "I guess I might as well go with you two. Who knows how much help you'll need?" I added quickly.

"We don't need the help of a rapscallion!" Steiner interjected.

"Stick to shorter insults." I said, switching moods on Steiner impatiently. "Give 'dumbass' a try sometime."

"Why you insolent lowlife!"

"That's enough! Both of you!" Dagger yelled suddenly, rising to her feet. "Why can't either of you get along?"

"Princess, he is a criminal who attempted to aid in your capture!" Steiner reasoned.

"He just sucks." I reasoned back. My best guess was that he was angry that I pole-vaulted into his chest when we first met. Being shown up like that in front of the queen would have a negative effect on anyone.

"Will the both of you stop it?!" Dagger said firmly. "You shouldn't be fighting each other. You should be fighting the monsters responsible for starting a war!"

Dagger stood in place, giving the both of us a pleading look. I looked over at Steiner and he looked back. Finally, I leaned my head back and sighed. Going with Dagger and Steiner meant that I was going to wind up traveling to South Gate and taking the train over the mountains to Treno, then we'd go to Alexandria traveling through Gargan Roo.

"Alright." I said. "I won't start anything if Steiner doesn't."

"That's fine with me." Steiner said reluctantly. He obviously didn't trust me, but with Dagger's orders, he couldn't really refuse.

"Thank you." Dagger said with a sigh of relief.

I really wanted to be with Zidane and the others. They were going to have a bigger adventure and Steiner and I were going to wind up locked in a cage at some point in Alexandria. That wasn't going to be any fun. At least I was going to meet up with Cinna and Marcus later. They seemed pretty cool, and fighting alongside Marcus on our way to Treno could be fun.

"_What a touching moment_." Kaiten said all of a sudden. "_You almost couldn't tell that you were bring watched_."

_What?!_

I looked around the small meadow slowly, trying to spot whoever was watching us without inciting panic in the others. It didn't do much good since the trees and bushes around were too thick. I couldn't see anything.

_How can you see them?_ I asked Kaiten.

"_I'm fully aware of your surroundings_," he explained. "_I can see what you see and then some_."

_Then how about you tell me where this guy is?_

"_He's around, somewhere_."

_You know, you could actually try to help right about now._

"Trevor? Are you okay?" Dagger asked. I quickly shot my gaze over to her, still thinking about what Kaiten said. Whoever was looking at us, probably wasn't about to do us any favors. Considering what had happened so far to screw up the storyline, it could have been anything. If our luck was bad enough, it even could have been a troupe of Black Mages under Brahne's control sent to capture Dagger.

Before I could answer Dagger, there was a loud rustling from behind me. I turned around quickly and gripped the hilts of my short swords tightly, ready to fight whatever showed up. Steiner pulled the broadsword from his back and Dagger pulled her staff out. I slid a foot back to balance myself, allowing myself to absorb more of an attack that way.

The rustling became louder and something started to emerge from the trees. I lifted my short swords out of their sheaths a little, but pushed them back when I saw what had come out.

From the trees emerged a moogle riding a chocobo. The chocobo let out a small 'Kweh!" as it saw us, and the moogle leaned over to look at us passed the large bird's neck. Considering where we were on the continent and in the plotline, this could only be one pair of characters. Mene and Choco.

"Greetings!" Mene said cheerfully. He leapt from Choco's back and landed with a 'Kupo!'. Choco squawked, as if in greeting as well. Mene looked like a little white teddy bear with a red ball floating over his head. He barely stood taller than my knee. Choco looked an awful lot like a big yellow ostrich, although he had a much larger beak. He was even taller than Steiner. I turned back and saw Dagger's eyes focused on Mene. It was obvious by her stare that she was thinking of how cute he must have looked.

"Uh…" I said, somewhat taken back.

_We were being watched by a moogle?!?_ I yelled at Kaiten.

"_Uh huh_."

_You made it sound like a dragon was about to step out!_

"_Yeah, but there wasn't_."

_Dammit Kaiten!_ I yelled, quite likely for the first of many times.

"I'm Mene, master of this forest," the moogle said, introducing himself. "This chocobo is my friend. His name is Choco."

"Hello." Dagger said sweetly. Steiner returned the moogle's friendly greeting with a nod and a "Greetings" of his own. I waved at him and said, "Hi."

"May I ask what you're doing here?" Mene asked politely. He stepped closer and stood in line with Choco.

"We're just passing through." Dagger said, taking charge of the situation. "Could you help us though?"

"Maybe." Mene said. "What do you need?"

"We need to know how to get to South Gate from here." Dagger explained. "Do you know the way?"

"I do," Mene said. "But I'm afraid I can't tell you."

"What?!" Steiner bellowed. "Why not?"

"This is my forest." Mene said, quickly gaining my disproval. "If you want to find your way through, you have to do it on your own."

"Can't you help us at all?" Dagger pleaded.

"Sorry, but no." Mene said finally.

"_Want me to smack him around a little_?" Kaiten offered.

_I'm thinking about it._ I told him.

"Please?" Dagger asked again. "It's important that I get through. Is there anything we can do to get you to help us?"

"Unless you can do something to help me or Choco, then no."

"Well… what do you want?" Dagger asked cautiously.

Mene stood up straight, as if presenting himself before royal company. The fact that he was in front of a princess didn't seem to have any effect on him though.

"There is something." Mene exclaimed. "I want Choco to be able to see the world, but I can't go since the trip is too long for me to make. If you can take him with you, then I'll point you in the right way."

Dagger's expression changed from hopeful to despaired. "But, we're only going to South Gate."

"That's not far enough." Mene said harshly. "No deal."

Since chocobos probably wouldn't have been allowed on the trolley along the mountains, there wasn't anything Dagger or Steiner could do. Riding him over the mountains wouldn't work, and Choco couldn't fly, so they were stuck. That's when I realized-

"I can take him as far as Cleyra," I said out of the blue. "Will that work?" I got surprised looks from everyone present. Choco included.

"Trevor?" Dagger asked. "What are you doing?"

"It's the only way to get you two through." I explained. "I'll take Choco on a trip and you two can get to Alexandria."

"That's on the other side of the continent!" Mene exclaimed. "That'll be more than enough. Choco! Come here."

Choco gave a resilient cry and backed away slightly. I don't know if I scared him or if the thought of being away from Mene frightened him, but he wasn't easy with the suggestion.

"Don't force him." I said hesitantly. Of course, it was another matter if Choco didn't want to go.

"No, if Choco hates someone, he runs away." Mene redoubled up his efforts and started flapping his wings, hovering in front of Choco's face. "Come on Choco!"

The chocobo let out a disheartened 'Kweh!' and didn't move an inch. Instead, he butted Mene away with the top of his head and stood in place. Mene fell to the ground and landed on his back. He rolled over on his side and pushed himself up. I thought he was going to yell at Choco, but he actually walked a few feet away on the edge of the meadow and yanked a small weed from the ground that looked like a big green radish. He started flying again and put the dirty weed in my hand.

"What's this?" I asked, half guessing the answer already.

"It's a Gysahl Green." Mene explained. "Feed it to Choco and he'll obey you."

I held the dirty plant in my hand and looked at Choco. He was looking at the weed, completely absorbed in it. I brushed some of the dirt off and held it out in a flat palm. Choco eyed it hungrily and craned his neck closer to examine it. He held his beak over my hand for a few seconds before biting down on the Gysahl Green and swallowing it whole. He let out a happy sounding 'Kweh!' when he was done with it and stepped a few feet closer to me. I wouldn't have been surprised if he tried to nuzzle his head against my chest affectionately.

"He likes you." Mene said, pointing out the obvious.

"Thanks." I said, placing a hand on Choco's head like he was a very large cat.

"So… you're not going with us?" Dagger asked quietly.

"Sorry Dagger, but this is the only way to get you two through the forest." I said, concealing my real reasons for doing this. "Besides, you have Steiner. He's more than enough protection for you."

Steiner's eyes widened. Apparently, the big rust-bucket never expected a compliment from me.

"Take care of her, alright Steiner?" I said.

"It is my duty to protect the princess," he responded. "No harm will come to her."

"Good to know." I said, hopping up onto Choco. Despite the lack of a saddle, it was remarkably easy to find a soft spot on Choco's back to rest on and get a good grip. I didn't have much experience with horses, so I could only hope that I didn't royally screw up while riding through the plains at full speed and fall off.

"_I see what you're doing_." Kaiten said slyly.

_Nothing gets by you, does it?_ I chuckled sarcastically.

"_You're just doing this to get to Burmecia so you can be with the others and fight with them_."

_Is it that obvious?_

"_So, we're going along with the monkey, the rat and the kid_?" Kaiten asked.

_Hey! Watch it!_

"So, Mene," I began. "Care to hold up your end of the bargain?"

"That way." Mene said simply, pointing northward towards South Gate.

"Thank you." Dagger said politely. She turned away from Mene and looked up at me. "Trevor, will you really be alright? Cleyra is really far from here."

"I'll be fine." I told her. "With any luck, I might run into Zidane."

"I see…" she said shyly, turning away. My guess was that she was hiding a blush.

"I'll let him know you're okay." I assured her. Dagger let out a breath of relief.

"Thank you," was all she said.

"I'll see you two later, alright?"

"Safe journey." Steiner said. I gave him a quick, two fingered salute, partially out of respect. Dagger nodded at me and I nodded back.

With the 'goodbyes' out of the way, I turned my attention to Choco and patted him on the neck. "Ready Choco?" The friendly bird let out a happy 'Kweeeh!' and bucked a little. I had to grab a handful of feathers on his back to stop myself from falling off. When he landed again, he instantly broke into a run. The sudden momentum pushed me forward against his neck and nearly knocked me off, but I managed to right myself up and get a good grip on his back and balance myself as Choco steadied into a nice pace. Within minutes, we were out of the forest and heading west towards Gizamaluke's Grotto.

"_How long should this take us?"_ Kaiten asked, shouting above the wind blowing by my ears.

_I dunno_, I said back to him, thinking rather than speaking so as not to confuse Choco. _With luck, we'll be there by nightfall. Why?_

"_Because I'm not sure how much of this bouncing I can take."_

It was true that Choco's running involved a lot of continuous bounding up and down, but I didn't think it was too bad. It was like being on a fast moving seesaw. It would probably get annoying after awhile, but it wasn't anything too strenuous.

_Well, just doing something to take your mind off of it. _I suggested.

"_Maybe you're right_." Kaiten said in a tone that left me slightly worried. "_I think I'll divulge myself in more of your memories_."

_What?!? I told you to stop that!_

"_Let's see… 'embarrassing moments in front of girls'_."

_Hey! Knock it off!!!_

"_No way! You actually lost in a fight to a girl_?"

_DAMMIT KAITEN!!!_

And still, Choco rode on like nothing else was going on.

----------------

Well, this chapter was shorter than I like to have them, but I feel like this was the best place to stop for now. Not every chapter can be enormous, right? The next one will be longer though, and much better, so wait for it in a bit. I hope not to take too long with it.

Oh, and I should probably explain why I wrote Mene the way that I did since Solark pointed out that interpretation's not clear.

There were two references in the game about Dagger and Steiner walking through the forest. In South Gate, Steiner said that it was Dagger's fortitude that got them passed the 'obnoxious moogles' and when Zidane goes to Chocobo's Forest before going to Gizamaluke's Grotto, Mene says that an 'ugly girl' went through the forest. These two points don't really mesh, so the best way to make them do so would be if Mene annoyed Dagger and Steiner and vise versa. So, I had to make him a little annoying so that Dagger and Steiner could get a little mad at him, fulfilling both points, using Mene's impatience. So, there you have it.

Nerd point for me:D


	23. Last Second Comeback

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's note: Alright. There's a lot of notes for today, so listen up!

First off, I'd like to maintain my character by apologizing how long it took to write this. I've been working my ass off keeping up with school and these bloody classes keep getting in my way, not to mention running the campus' Anime Club. I tell ya, if it wasn't for the classes, college might actually be fun. :P At least it's a nice long chapter and it has more of my infamous fight scenes in it. XD

Second, as if writing was contagious in the family, my little brother, FiftyCal, has tried his hand at it. His story, Dented Mind, is violent, completely OOC and very, _very_ random in so many ways, but DAMN is it funny! And I'm not saying that because I'm his brother. Go check it out. It's worth it, I swear.

Another note involving my family is that this chapter is dedicated to my father, since it's his birthday. So, Happy Birthday old man:D

Next point, I've received a few reports of people not getting the e-mails that Shattered Mind had been updated. If that's the case with you, just let me know and I'll begin sending you a PM every time I update. It's no trouble, really. Especially if you leave a review. (Hint, hint)

Another point that I want to bring up is that my beta reader, Rashnefein, is back. He left for a while, but he's back now. All I can say is that I'm sorry to everyone who doesn't understand his unique brand of…humor.

And with this chapter, I now have a new candidate for the longest chapter I've ever written. I'm just glad at how easy it's becoming to write long chapters this well. :D

And lastly, I've decided to write only three more chapters (including this one) of Shattered Mind: Issues. After those three, it's done. Finished. Complete. Got it?

That's enough with the notes. On with the story at last.

Chapter 23- Last Second Comeback

----------------

Choco had been running relentlessly for hours. We left Chocobo's Forest far behind us, revealing a set of mountains off to the right. The sun had descended low in the sky, setting the sky a blaze in a multitude of color. Monsters were not a problem as Choco cold outrun everything and had done so with minimal effort every time we spotted one.

And all the while, Kaiten had been complaining.

"_Are we there yet?"_ Kaiten asked.

_How should I know?_ I asked in my thoughts. _I've never been to this place before._

"_Just see that we get there soon_."

_I didn't know you were that concerned with catching up to the others…_

"_I'm not. I just can't take much more bouncing_."

…_You're not getting motion sick, are you?_

"_Ugh… Give me a smooth flying airship any day_."

_If you throw up inside my head, I'll kill you so much-_

"_Can we please get off the bouncing bird now?_"

I rolled my eyes at Kaiten. Despite how he tried to pull himself off, he sounded like a whining child now. I reached down at Choco's neck and patted him softly to get his attention.

"Hey Choco, why don't you take a break? You've been running for a while."

My suggestion seemed to relieve the poor bird quite a lot. Despite what I've heard horses do in terms of long distance running, it was nothing when compared to a chocobo. I didn't know if Choco was really tired or not, but he kept running anyway. Either way, we made fantastic progress because of him. With luck, it was enough to make up for the time lost when Kaiten took over my body the first time.

The circulatory system of a chocobo would have been a zoologist's dream back on Earth. We had been running for the last several hours, yet Choco barely showed any signs of fatigue. Maybe Mene just fed him too much sugar and never gave him a chance to burn it off. Choco gave a happy 'Kweh' as he slowed down and I hopped off his back.

"Keep an eye out for a tunnel around here Choco," I told the cheerful chocobo. "We'll need to pass through it soon enough."

Even though the entrance to the grotto should have been near, we didn't see any sign of it. There wasn't much mist around fortunately, what with the breeze coming down from the mountains, so finding the tunnel shouldn't have been that hard. I kept my hand on Choco's neck to make sure he stayed by my side.

Walking again felt odd at first. Spending a few hours on a soft, bouncing seat, had turned my legs to jelly. I stomped against the ground a few times to get the blood flowing in them again. It did little though, as my legs still felt numb. I ended up leaning against Choco as we started off again.

"Sorry Choco," I said. "Just give me a few minutes."

Choco let out an understanding 'Kweh' as he allowed me to put my weight against him again. We set off once again for the west in hopes of finding the entrance to Gizamaluke's Grotto.

There was a dull silence for the first few minutes. I managed to get some feeling back in my legs, but they still felt a little off, so I decided not to force them.

"_How do we know your friends even came by here yet_?" Kaiten asked out of the blue.

_I'm not entirely sure actually._ I admitted. _They had to have come through here though. I'm sure of it._

"_How?_" Kaiten snapped. "_How do you know that they're not off looking for you right now_?"

_Well, Zidane did say that if we were separated that finding each other would be impossible_. I recalled.

"_You base too many decisions on assumptions, you know that_?"

_What? What are you talking about?_

"_Remember when you tired to sneak into the underground facility in Dali_?"

_Yeah._

"_You assumed that you could run through the place, rescue the kid and get out no problem. Because of that, you let your guard down and got attacked from behind_."

_Well, that wasn't really an assumption. I just got careless._

"_And there was the time in the Festival of the Hunt that you assumed the Zaghnol would be in the fountain plaza, but it wasn't_."

_Okay, _that_ was an assumption, but nothing really bad happened from it_.

"_Yeah_." Kaiten said sarcastically. "_And we all know that a man getting skewered in the arm and having two kids almost die isn't a bad thing. And of course, this situation is no different._"

I didn't say anything in response. Thinking over it all, I realized that Kaiten was right. I did rely on my assumptions a little too heavily. Even now, I was coasting on the assumption that Zidane and the others were somewhere within or beyond Gizamaluke's Grotto. If they were in there or beyond it, I could catch up to them, thanks to Choco, but if they weren't, then I could be waiting a long time before I ever saw them again, and the storyline would get messed up far worse than it already had been.

"_Do you even know where we're going?_"

_I have some idea, so pretty much, yeah._

"_Oh really_?" Kaiten snapped again. "_You found a map after you arrived here in Gaia and memorized it_?"

Although Zidane got the map from Blank after we fled Evil Forest, I never took the time to really look at it. I just told the others that I took a geography course and knew the continent pretty well. I gave it a quick once over just to be sure and everything seemed to be in place, but I never looked for the small things like the tunnel I was now supposed to be looking for.

_Well… no, but-_

"_Then you don't know where we are_!" Kaiten yelled, loud enough for me to wince a little. "_You're just assuming that the world is the same as your stupid game! People die from assumptions like that_."

Again, Kaiten was right. Although I didn't want to admit it, I couldn't be entirely sure of where we were. We were in a valley of some kind. There was a large mountain pass on either side of us, so if we were where I thought we were, Gizamaluke's Grotto wouldn't be too much farther.

_We're going to get out of this._ I said, gritting my teeth. _And when we do, I'll be waiting for your apology._

"_Dumbass_." Kaiten breathed lightly. "_Just try not to get us killed_."

Silence overtook us again as Choco and I marched along. Mountain lines and light strains of mist spread over the area, taking over everything in sight as we traveled. And in an unlikely turn of luck, there weren't any monsters to be seen anywhere. We had passed quite a few along the way, which may have had something to do with why Choco could run so long, so it was nice to get a reprieve from them.

Nearly an hour passed before anything happened again. I was enjoying the silence, not having Kaiten to bother me. My leg had gotten better and I didn't have to rely on Choco anymore, so I simply kept pace with him at his side.

"How you holding up Choco?" I asked, breaking the silence. "Not too tired?"

Choco craned his neck around and looked straight at me, letting out another light 'Kweh' in response. I took it as meaning that he was doing alright.

"Good." I said with a nod.

The mountains gave us no hints as to how much father we had to travel. I didn't have this place memorized in any particular fashion, so it could've taken us anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to reach the entrance. There was no way to be sure. Despite this, we pressed onward. If Zidane and the others were anywhere up ahead, Choco, Kaiten and I would find then.

The minutes shifted into an hour and the yards changed to miles. It was a long while before we finally got anywhere near where I wanted us to be. I kept my eyes wide open for the entrance to Gizamaluke's Grotto, but I wasn't the first one to find it. Kaiten was.

"_There's blood in the air_," he said ominously. "_We must be close_."

_Blood?_ I asked. _You can smell outside my head now?_

"_Look to your right_."

I glanced to my side and saw something that didn't appear in the game. A streak of blood was smeared on the cliff side a few feet off of the ground.

…_What?_

"Choco, stay here." I ordered. The chocobo looked at me curiously, but stayed in place as I ran the short distance to the side of the mountains to investigate where the blood had come from. I looked at the very foot of the rocks meeting the ground and saw the charred remains of three Burmecian soldiers.

"Oh god…"

"_They must have been on patrol_."

"But they weren't near the combat inside the cavern. Why were they killed?"

In the game, there was still combat going on when Zidane and the others arrived. The fact that these soldiers were dead seemed to suggest otherwise.

"_There were guards standing outside the entrance to the grotto on the Lindblum side, correct_?" Kaiten asked. I just assumed that he had been reading more of my memories.

"Yeah. In the game, they were dead when Zidane got there."

"_The enemy must have flooded through the grotto and come out here first. Their main target was to kill these troops so that they couldn't go for help_." Kaiten explained. "_Once that was done, they took their time picking off the survivors inside_."

I could imagine the swarm of Black Mages running through Gizamaluke's Grotto, taking the Burmecian troops completely by surprise. With the Black Mages' power, the whole thing could have been done, literally, in minutes.

_We have to keep going._ I said. _There might be more survivors and Zidane and the others could be close._

"_Patrols usually don't stray too far from what they're meant to guard. We must be close_."

I ran back to Choco, realizing that the sooner we got to Gizamaluke's Grotto, the sooner we could help any surviving Burmecians.

"Choco! Let's go!" I yelled as I ran. Choco seemed to understand my distress and 'Kweh'ed in response. He readied himself for sprinting again and leaned down to give me an easier way to mount up. As I got close, I jumped high, using my arms against his neck to vault onto his back.

"Go!"

Like when I first rode Choco, he reared back and surged forward, running as fast as his long legs could take him. By now I had gotten used to his high speeds and was able to keep a much better grip on him. We traveled as fast as we could, all the while keeping an eye out on the right mountainside for an entrance into the cavern.

It took us about two minutes of fast running, but we were finally able to make our way to Gizamaluke's Grotto. The entrance was even worse than what I had remembered from the game.

There were two cone shaped obelisks set on either side of the entrance. The one on the right was cracked and burnt. The other one was apparently hit with an explosion and had been snapped in half. The foundation of the archway supporting the walkway into the mountain was bruised and scorched by Thunder and Fire spells. Worst of all, bodies were littered all over the place.

I didn't know what to say as I saw everything before me. Four Burmecian soldiers had been overtaken at the entrance and died, clutching their wounds, their faces were twisted in pain. Three of them didn't even have enough time to unsheathe their swords. The one that did have his sword out had it clasped lightly in his dead grip. Blood was everywhere.

"_What are you doing? Keep moving_!"

I blinked a few times upon hearing Kaiten's voice yell at me.

_But… these bodies-_

"_Yes. Bodies. This is what happens in war_."

_If the Black Mages could take them down so easily, then what chance do we have?_

"_What did you think you were getting yourself into? This is war! People die!_"

For the first time since I had entered Gaia, I had considered the weight of what was really going on. I had been thinking about everything as a video game up until this point. I always thought there would be someone around to back me up and that I'd make it out of everything just fine, but I finally realized the truth of what going through the storyline was going to mean. Death was in the air, and I didn't like it in the slightest.

_This isn't going to be as easy as I thought,_ I said.

"_You thought it was going to be easy_?" Kaiten ridiculed. He was getting really good at annoying me in just the right ways.

With nothing to lose, I patted the side of Choco's neck, indicating him to go forward. He did so reluctantly, being careful not to step on any of the fallen troops. I could understand why. After seeing the bodies of the fallen Burmecian soldiers, I didn't really want to go in, but I didn't have much choice. Zidane, Freya and Vivi needed me.

Inside, Gizamaluke's Grotto had a 'damp cave' feel to it. The stone floor had several puddles of water collected from the stalactites hanging down from the ceiling. There wasn't much to the architecture of the place. The place looked like the Burmecians had just added doors baring access to some part of the cavern. Fortunately for me, the doors were already unlocked and had been left open. That could only mean that someone or some group of people had passed through here recently, and my inclinations pushed towards one group of people.

"Zidane!" I yelled, my voice echoing off the cavern walls. The doors could only be open if they had rung a Gizamaluke Bell in front of it. I didn't really get the wisdom behind a bell being used as a security device, but it didn't matter to me. Maybe the Burmecians had something in mind when they conceived the notion.

"Freya!" I continued to call out. "Vivi!"

"_Maybe they're not here yet_." Kaiten suggested.

_They have to be here_. I said. _Who else could have opened the door?_

"_There you go with your damn assumptions again_."

_Well until I see proof that they're not here, then I'm sticking around._

"_How's this for proof? We can't see them_."

_You have to give it more than thirty seconds! _I pointed out gruffly.

Kaiten probably would have kept arguing his point, but he was cut off by more proof for my side. As we stood in the small open room inside the cavern, a large, dull crash resonated from deeper within the cave. I smiled as I quickly realized that the sound was of a large bell crashing to the ground.

In the game, Zidane and the others had to rescue a moogle trapped under a giant bell. The bell made an enormous crash as it was tipped over… by the moogle inside ironically enough. The Black Mages invading the cavern wouldn't have bothered to do that and all the Burmecians were dead. Since the moogle inside the bell broke out because he noticed the Kupo Nut the Vivi had on him from Lindblum, the only reason the bell would have been knocked over was if the others were here.

Zidane, Freya and Vivi were in the other room, just down the hallway!

"That's them!" I couldn't help but cry out. It felt like I had been away from them for almost a month, even though it had only been a day. I jumped off of Choco and began running for the doorway towards the inner chamber and the grotto that held Gizamaluke. It wasn't going to be much fun fighting him, but now I could use magic, so seeing the reactions of the others might give me a brief laugh or two.

_Proof enough for you Kaiten?_ I asked.

"_Fine. So they're here_," he slumped. "_So what?_"

"C'mon Choco!" I called back towards my second comrade present. I pulled my arm towards him as I ran on ahead.

Choco, who could obviously feel how excited I was, let out a happy chirp and picked up speed, following being me. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. We had Choco to help us along our travels, I was going to be fighting alongside my friends again, and now I could use magic. It felt like things couldn't have been better.

That's why I didn't notice the Black Mage on the other side of the room until the last second.

"KILL!" the Black Mage yelled, powering up a spell in its hands. I skidded to a halt and watched it aim its spell at Choco.

"Choco! Get out of the way!" I yelled as the world slowed down around me.

Choco merely looked over to the side at the Black Mage to see what the fuss was about. His eyes widened as a fireball exploded in his chest. It knocked him backwards, kicking him up from the ground and sending him onto his side. He still had a few feathers burning when he landed.

"…Choco?"

Choco didn't move an inch. Not even his toes twitched. He just laid on the ground, motionless as stone.

"_He's dead_." Kaiten said quietly.

"No…" I said. "No, he can't be dead."

"_He's dead!_" Kaiten said more forcefully. "_Now get over it and kill the Black Mage before it kills you!_"

What Kaiten said was slowly sinking in. I didn't want to believe it, but somehow, Choco had died from the Fire spell. I knew he wasn't meant for combat, but something like that just wasn't right. How could Choco be killed like that?

Something within me snapped. I looked up at the Black Mage in pure fury; eyes widened and teeth gritted. He had killed an ally of mine.

I was going to do far worse to it.

The Black Mage, unaware of the danger it was in, just raised his hands up at me and began casting another spell. "KILL!" being the only word it said.

"I'm gonna kill you," I said in a voice too low for the Black Mage to hear. Insanity began to creep into my mind as my rage built up. "I'm gonna kill you!"

I could feel the air heat up around me, but the Black Mage was already too late. I ducked low and bolted straight for the bastard as a Fire spell went off over my head. I pulled out one of my short swords and held it in front f me, pointed at the Black Mage's chest. It powered up another spell as I ran at it. A small blue ball of energy gathered in its palms, growing as the spell strengthened. If I wasn't fast enough, the spell could hit me and do who knows how much damage to me. I kicked my feet faster underneath myself, pushing myself towards the monster right in front of me.

The Black Mage, obviously finishing its next spell, pushed its hands out and let loose the energy in its hands. "KILL!" it yelled as a bolt of lightning came forth and landed right at my feet, kicking up dust and rocks into the air. If I hadn't been running so fast, it might have actually done something against me. Instead, it nicked my leg, leaving a small burn mark where one of the bolts hit, but it wasn't nearly enough to stop me. I charged right through and sank the blade fully into the Black Mage's chest.

"Now die!" I cried out as my own energy began to gather into the tip of my blade. "Pulse!"

A purple colored ring flowed out from the Black Mage's body in a perfect circle. Its eyes went wide as bones and organs cracked in half from the pressure of my attack.

"K…ill…" was the last thing the Black Mage was able to mutter before its two halves slid apart, one of them being held up by my short sword. I pulled the blade back and the second half fell to the ground too, away from the other half. I didn't bother to look at the corpse. I had something more important to do.

_Choco_…

I ran to the other side of the room and knelt down at the chocobo's side. He hadn't moved the slightest bit since he was hit by the spell.

"Dammit… Choco." I muttered, trying to fight back the anger that still welled up inside of myself. His murderer was dead. There was nowhere else the anger could go.

Suddenly, like a miracle, a drawn out, "Kweeehhhh." resonated from the ground. I looked down in confusion and saw Choco blinking his eyes.

"Choco?!?" I blurted out. "You're alive!"

Choco didn't really respond to me. He just lifted his head a little, weakly trying to pick himself up. I held him carefully, as best I could, to make sure he didn't hurt himself anymore than he already had been.

"But I thought you were dead?" I said to the large bird.

"_Looks like he was just stunned_." Kaiten said.

I thought or a moment before realizing the double meaning behind Kaiten's statement.

_You knew he was only stunned, didn't you?_

"_Well, I couldn't be sure, but_-"

_You got me all worked up over nothing?_ I yelled at him. _I thought Choco was dead!_

"_No, not nothing_." Kaiten corrected. "_If you didn't think the bird was dead, you wouldnt've have gotten pissed. If you didn't get pissed, you wouldn't have perfected Pulse. Look at how much stronger your attack was this time_."

I thought back and finally realized that I had perfected my Pulse attack in only one try. Considering the complexity of the magic behind it, it should have taken me much longer than that.

_My rage… I was able to do that because I got angry._

"_Your method of swinging your arms at your sides takes too long_," Kaiten explained. "_Just get angry and use that energy. Getting angry gives you strength._"

_No way! The old men said they wanted me angry. I won't just give them what they want that easily._

"_Don't be an idiot_!" Kaiten yelled. "_This isn't about ethics or the old men! It's about survival_!"

_I'm not going to reduce myself to that. _I explained. _ You should know what my anger's done._

"_Ah, yes_." Kaiten sneered. If he had a face, he probably would have been flashing an overly obnoxious smile at me. "_Shadow_."

_Then you know why I'm not going to use my anger in combat._

"_You're being a coward_." Kaiten said cruelly. "_Shit happens. Dogs die_."

_Not like that… Not when they're only three…_

An image passed through my mind from when I was in high school…

_I was walking through a forest path I enjoyed taking while walking my border collie, Shadow. He wasn't really even a dog, being no older than a puppy at the time. He had a black spot over both of his eyes with white running down his snout. Black fur covered most of his body, leaving white only on his legs and stomach. We were walking along, happily as usual. I kept one hand on the leash while Shadow kept walking faster than me, tugging impatiently at the collar around his throat._

"_You're going to choke yourself fuzzball." I teased._

_Shadow just looked back, tongue hanging out of his mouth, and barked. Then he proceeded to bite at the leash playfully, either trying to get me to move faster or trying to bite it off. Either way, I couldn't help chuckling as I picked up the pace a little…_

Reality came back to me as the memory faded. The cave came back into focus and I was sitting on my knees. I felt a little sick bringing the memory back. I tried not to think about what ended up happening to him. What I had caused.

"Kweh."

I turned around and saw Choco standing once again. He brought his head down and nudged me in the side. My guess was that he was checking to see if I was okay.

"Hey Choco," I said, bringing a hand to his head. "How about we get the hell out of here?"

Choco gave me a cheerful 'Kweh' and lifted his head back up. I pushed myself up as well and started towards the door at the end of the room. The others probably began the fight with Gizamaluke already. I was going to have to hurry up.

----------------

I made my way through the next room with Choco close behind. There was a large bell knocked over on its side, set on a platform just large enough to hold it. It had to weight more than 200 pounds. How a moogle could have knocked it over was beyond me. I would have kept on pondering it, but I had friends who needed my help in the next room, as the voices I heard from beyond indicated.

"Here it comes!" came Zidane's voice.

"Where? Where is it?" said a small, panicky voice. Vivi's.

"It doesn't matter. Just keep your guard up. That was Freya, no question.

"Choco, you stay here," I said, turning around. "You'll be safer if you're not in combat."

Choco simply stepped back a few paces and tapped s talon on the ground. My guess was that it was his way of saying that he understood.

"Good."

I turned around and ran towards the grotto doorway. I pulled my short swords out and held them tightly as I charged forward. I emerged in the next room ready for battle.

The grotto was separated between two sets of flooring. The path in front of me sent me to the right side of the room, where the floor was covered in smooth stone. The left side of the room was a large pool of water. That's where Gizamaluke was hiding no doubt. I looked ahead and saw Zidane, Freya and Vivi standing defensively on the right side of the room.

"Guys!" I called out and ran deeper into the room. The three of them did a double take as they turned and looked at me wide eyed. I smiled as I ran further out to the platform to join them.

"No, Trevor! Stay back!" Zidane yelled to me in warning. I slowed my run to a jog, just as Gizamaluke stuck himself out from the water. A small wave of water rushed at me, knocking me back into my greatest nemesis… a wall. I was never going to get to have a dramatic entrance.

"Trevor! Are you alright?" Zidane yelled back.

"Dammit. So much for my dramatic entrance." I said. I pushed myself up and quickly recovered from the hit, jogging my way over to the other three party members standing on the platform.

"What happened to you Trevor?" Zidane asked. "You just freaked out and disappeared!"

"Sorry about that, I'll explain later." I said. "Right now, let's just try to get rid of this thing." I said, pointing at Gizamaluke.

The dragon-esque Gizamaluke was even uglier than I thought he'd be. He had the body of a scaly bat, the head of a snake, and a tail with a club on it large enough to smash in the side of a truck. Getting hit by that would probably be enough to kill me. What made him worse was all the translucent veins running along the membrane of his wings and his scales all stuck out like a sidewalk cracked open by a tree's roots. I was going to be glad in more than one way to get out of here.

"Maybe I should have waited a few minutes before charging in," I thought out loud.

"Incoming!"

I looked over at Zidane as he yelled and dove out of the way, realizing at the last second that Gizamaluke was attacking. I tumbled to the side and narrowly avoided getting smacked away by its club-like tail. I slid across the wet ground and landed up on my back before pushing myself back up to my feet.

As Gizamaluke glided back into his position over the pool of water, I noticed my next problem. With him hovering over the water like that, I had no way to get to him. Unless he decided, for whatever suicidal reason, to come within range of our weapons, I couldn't touch him. And I knew Zidane was in the same predicament as me. Freya could easily jump over to him using her skills as a dragon knight and Vivi could use his magic at long range. That's when I realized-

"Vivi!"

The little mage was our best hope of winning yet another fight. If he could just lead Gizamaluke in the right places, the dragon would end up hovering over land where Zidane and I could easily take care of him. And with my new magic, I knew I could do more than a little damage.

However, Vivi didn't respond when I called. His gaze never shifted from the expression of fear he had looking up at Gizamaluke as it stared down at him. The massive dragon just reared back and let out the loudest roar I had ever heard. It was even more deafening than standing next to a jet engine going full throttle. I was across the room and even I had to cover my ears tightly. All the while, Vivi got an earful of it all.

"Vivi! Get away!" Zidane called out to the terrified mage. He put the Ogre down and ran over to Vivi, grabbing him by the hand and pulled him back where it was quieter, although only slightly.

Gizamaluke pulled its head back and hovered above the water again. With Vivi shocked the way he was and Zidane trying to bring him back to reality, half of our team was disabled. I could only hope that Freya was faring better-

_Hey, wait. Where _is_ Freya?_

My question was answered with a loud _'Shink'_ sound as Freya suddenly landed with her spear thrusting straight in the center of Gizamaluke's chest. She kicked herself away, pulling her spear out again, and landed next to Zidane and Vivi were.

"Can you three help me with this?" she asked sarcastically. "I can't take him on alone."

Zidane didn't answer Freya's proposition. Instead, he turned back to me and said, "Trevor, give me a hand with Vivi. He won't snap out of it."

"Dammit," I said in a low voice. I started jogging over to them. I was about half way there when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gizamaluke swing his tail around and bring it around for another attack. My pace quickened as I knew what was coming.

"Get down!" I yelled.

I charged right into the still terrified Vivi, who hadn't moved, despite my warning. I scooped him up, trying to get him away in time, but I got hit in the back by the swinging club. With a gasp, all the air got knocked out of my lungs and I was sent sprawling across the floor with Vivi still in my arms. I held him close to make sure he didn't get hurt too badly. I knew I was going to need a minute when we stopped rolling.

And eventually, we did stop rolling, but not before smacking right into a wall, once again winding me. I gave a light cough and tasted blood poling up in the back of my throat. I could only hope I didn't suffer any real damage. I let go of Vivi and tried my best to recover my breath.

"T-Trevor…" came a shallow voice. I looked down and saw Vivi shivering beside me. "I-I-I'm so s-scared."

I struggled to get some air into my lungs. I wanted to say something to comfort Vivi, but since I didn't have any air at all in me, doing so was almost impossible. Knowing the risk that presented itself in Gizamaluke, I waved a hand at Zidane and brushed it over at Gizamaluke, desperately telling him to buy us some time.

"Dis…stract…" I said between breaths. It didn't come out very loud, but Zidane got the idea either way.

Zidane gave me a nod and turned back to Gizamaluke. He twirled the Ogre a few times over his head before holding it out in front of himself. He closed his eyes in concentration. Seconds later, several black bolts of energy lashed out and sank into Gizamaluke's eyes. Soul Blade, Zidane's first bit of magic. It brought out the inner abilities of the weapon he was using, and as luck would have it, the Ogre's ability blinded opponents.

Gizamaluke thrashed around in protest at first, screaming in anger and confusion. It swung its tail around to get back at Zidane, but the attacks were nowhere near their mark. It really was blind. Freya took the opportunity to launch another attack and leapt high into the air. A few seconds later, she came back down, sinking the blade of her spear into Gizamaluke's shoulder.

Since Gizamaluke had its arms, or rather its wings, full, I could concentrate on getting Vivi back into fighting shape. I took a few deep breaths, my lungs slowly filling up again.

"Vivi," I began slowly. "You need to… fight…"

"B-But, I'm scared," he repeated. "That thing is so big! And we killed so many of those dolls that look like me."

"_He's even worse with war affairs than you are_." Kaiten said.

I ignored him and turned back to Vivi. "Vivi… this is war… People die."

"But-"

"It's kill or be killed Vivi!" I said, my lungs almost recovered. "Always assume your enemy will have no trouble killing you."

"Aren't you afraid?" Vivi asked. I could tell from his voice that he was slowly coming back to normal.

"Of course I'm afraid!" I said. "I don't even have any way of getting close to that thing."

"Then… how are you going to attack it?"

"That's where you come in." I said. "I need you to set off some carefully placed attacks to drive it over to land so Zidane and I can have an easier time hurting it."

Across the room, Gizamaluke let out another scream. I looked over and saw Freya stab Gizamaluke in the chest again. She landed back on solid ground next to Zidane, but fell to her knees from exhaustion.

"Freya's the only other one who can hit him, but she can't last much longer." I explained. "We need your magic Vivi."

"But-"

There wasn't time for Vivi to be afraid now. If we didn't win soon, Freya was going to work herself to death and Zidane and I would eventually get killed just trying to get close to Gizamaluke. I grabbed Vivi by the shoulders and looked straight into his eyes. "Vivi, I told you once that bravery can come from teamwork. Just lead that thing over to land and we'll take care of the rest, okay?"

Vivi stared at me, the fear still apparent on his face. He shifted uncomfortably, then gave a small nod. "A-Alright. I'll try."

"Good," I said with a smile. "We're counting on you Vivi. Hit him right in the back and lead him to us." I gripped my short swords and ran over to Zidane's side.

I slid to a halt when I neared Zidane and Freya, who was still gasping for breath. I held my weapons out in front, ready for anything.

"How's it going?" I asked calmly as the three of us stood waiting. I took from their inaction that they had heard my plan with Vivi and we waiting for him to cast the first spell.

"Trevor, remind me to smack you around for leaving when this is done." Freya said with a glare.

"Later. Right now let's just concentrate on this thing."

Gizamaluke let out another low scream, resonating everywhere in the damp cavern. Still blind, it looked all over for any sign of where we were. It looked like it was going to let out another shriek, but it never got the chance. A fireball exploded behind Gizamaluke, grazing its back with super-heated flames. The dragon reacted by flapping its wings to move forward several feet to get away from the attack.

"Good Vivi!" Zidane called out. "Now hit it again!"

Vivi concentrated and charged up another spell. A small blue spark shined behind Gizamaluke while the dragon continued to search for us. It had no idea we were only a dozen feet in front of it.

_This is going well,_ I thought. I knew I had to get ready for my attack, so I held my arms at my sides and swung them gently. I could feel the muscles in my torso and arms relaxing, building up energy in my chest. In a few seconds, Gizamaluke would be close enough to attack and I'd have a bunch of energy ready to rip through it with.

"What are you doing?" Zidane asked from my side.

"You'll see," I said with a smirk. "I learned a new trick."

"Will it help?"

"Oh yeah."

"_Just try not to screw up_," Kaiten said. "_You're not using anger, so it's unstable_."

_You never let up, do you?_

Vivi's attack had finally gathered enough energy and exploded behind the floating dragon. Lightning scattered over the air and surged into Gizamaluke's back, urging it forward, which the monster did, quite generously. Its tail landed against the platform. Gizamaluke was finally close enough to attack.

Zidane was the first one to run forward. He jumped and vaulted onto Gizamaluke's bulbous tail. His spun the Ogre over his head briefly before slashing it deeply into the thinner section of its tail, slicing through some of the membrane of its wing as well. Zidane fell back and landed next to Freya and myself as Gizamaluke screamed its head off and struggled to get away, but Vivi was too fast for it. A small white ball of energy had formed behind the dragon and expanded instantly.

Gizamaluke turned around to fly away, only to be met with Vivi's Blizzard spell. The huge ball of ice cracked at first, then exploded in a fury of hail, knocking Gizamaluke backwards, even more on land now than he had been. It ran into the wall behind it and fell backwards at an angle. We wouldn't get this kind of a chance very often, so Zidane, Freya and I took up arms and charged the beast.

Freya, with her longer reach, went straight for its wings. She swung her spear high over her head in a magnificent combo, cutting through the thin layers of skin. Gizamaluke screamed and flapped its wing to escape, but since it was so cut up, there wasn't much good that it could do.

Meanwhile, I followed Zidane as he went for the tail. It most likely had a few major arteries there, so cutting it off would eventually make it bleed to death. With another vault, Zidane jumped on top of the club part of the tail while I stayed on the underside where Zidane hadn't cut it. Zidane brought his sword up and let it come down in a big arc, cutting deeper into the same spot he hit earlier. Gizamaluke thrashed and knocked Zidane off, sending him into a boulder. It settled its tail back down to where it was and focused on Freya again, who was still attacking its wing. Obviously, it didn't know where I was.

With all the energy I needed gathered up, I brought my short sword up and set it at a low angle against Gizamaluke's skin, leaning it almost parallel to its tail. I sent the slow energy into my blade and let it gather into the tip. I made sure I wasn't in the blast range and let the energy go.

"Let's see how this works," I said as the Pulse rang out.

A translucent purple ring came out from tip of my sword, cutting very deep into the tail. Blood gushed out by the bucketful, soaking my blade before I moved it away. I jumped back and saw the results of my handiwork as Gizamaluke roared in pain and fear. Pulse wasn't enough to cut through all of its tail, but it looked like between my attack and Zidane's, the only thing holding it in place was the bone. I grinned at my success.

"_Well, it wasn't as good as it could have been, but you did manage to spill a lot of blood_," Kaiten commented.

_You're not going to start obsessing about blood like you did in Lindblum, are you?_

"Whoa," I heard Zidane say from my side. "Where'd you learn THAT?"

"Somewhere," I vaguely explained. "Think you can take the rest of the tail off?"

"If I can get close enough, yeah. No problem."

Gizamaluke thrashed madly as blood continued to gush forward from its tail. By now, Freya had fully ripped its wings to shreds, so it wasn't going anywhere. Zidane charged forward, heading straight for the tail and I went after him, intent on attacking the chest.

As Zidane swung and missed the bulbous tail, I jumped up and latched onto the leaning monster's side. I quickly pulled myself up and found some decent enough footing, despite how much it was shaking around. I jumped forward and sank my short swords into where I assumed Gizamaluke's lungs were. I sent the energy into them again and felt them disperse at the tips, sending a cutting wave into each of them. There was a wet roar that came from Gizamaluke's throat, which only grew in volume as a big weight was taken from its tail. I turned around and saw that Zidane had cut through the tail, leaving a bleeding stump in its place.

"Trevor, get off!" Zidane called up. I didn't need to be told twice. I took a big step forward and leapt into the air, landing hard against the stone ground below. My ankles hurt, but I didn't pay them any attention. I turned around and watched as Gizamaluke desperately pulled itself away from the land and into the pool of water. None of us protested as it pulled on the lip of the platform and fell into the pool with a shallow splash. The sound echoed throughout the grotto as some sense of peace finally settled in again.

"Well, that was fun," I joked.

"Trevor-" Freya began, but was cut off as an explosion sounded from the pool where Gizamaluke had just fallen into. We all glanced over as Gizamaluke slowly floated to the surface.

"U-um…" came Vivi's voice. "I thought I should use Thunder while it was in the water," he explained.

"Nice job Vivi," Zidane said. He gave the little mage a thumbs up with a smile.

"And you!" came Freya's voice again. I turned back just in time to get punched in the face, sending me onto my back and landing with a grunt. I touched my cheek where Freya had hit and looked up at her with anger.

"What the hell was that for!?" I demanded.

"For making us worry," she said, offering her hand to help me up. Although I was kind of angry with her, I understood the sentiment and took her hand. Freya pulled me to my feet and let me stand. I nodded back at her and headed over to the pool of water to wash my swords off. I was pretty lucky to have sources of water around whenever I needed to clean my short swords.

"So how much longer before we reach Burmecia?" I asked as the blood flowed off of my short sword.

"Ready to join back up just like that?" Freya asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I figure that I can make for a good person to have in combat. Especially now that I can use magic."

"I've been meaning to ask, what kind of magic is that?" Zidane asked. He folded his arms and raised a hand to his chin.

I didn't really have an answer for him. I didn't stop to think about what kind of magic it really was. With nowhere else to turn to, I did the only kind of research that I could.

_Hey Kaiten, what kind of magic is this called?_

"_Nope, not helping you on this one_," he said. "_If you don't want to do it right, then don't expect me to give you any info about it_."

_Not even a hint?_

"_Okay, here's a hint: it's a type of magic_."

_Jackass._

"Well?" Zidane asked, growing impatient. I had been sitting around in silence after all. I could've looked like I was ignoring him.

"It's called Chi," I said, thinking of no other explanation. "I can use my body's energy and project it outwards."

"It'll come in handy in close quarters combat." Freya added. "If there are still enemies in Burmecia, then we'll be sure to need whatever we can use."

"I guess that means I'm back," I said. I pulled my short swords out of the water and shook what water I could off of them.

"_Chi, huh_?" Kaiten remarked. "_Not a bad name, but we called it purple magic on Terra_."

_Purple magic?_ I responded. _Wow. I'm glad I went with calling it Chi_.

"_Because it sounds more descriptive?_"

_Because it sounds cooler._ I said with a grin. _But why is it called purple magic anyway?_

"_Because, as I'm sure you've noticed, the color of each attack and technique always comes out as purple_."

_Wait- There's more attacks than Pulse?_

"_Please tell me you really aren't that stupid_." Kaiten said with a miserable tone. "_Yes there's more than one technique! I have several more_!"

_Really? What are they?_

"_You'll find them out on your own_."

"We should get going." Zidane said. "Burmecia's not going to wait for us."

Zidane, Freya and Vivi all turned around and made their way to the exit. I was about to follow them, but I remembered something at the last second.

_Geez, how could I forget him?_

"Trevor? You coming?" Zidane asked as he walked backwards towards the exit.

I didn't get a chance to answer him. Before I could speak, Choco came running into the grotto. He slowed to a stop just before passing me, stopping right behind me as he looked out curiously at the others.

"I found a chocobo." I explained with a nervous laugh.

"A chocobo?"

"Wow!" Vivi exclaimed. He broke from the group and ran towards Choco, enthusiastically looking up at him. Sometimes, it was easy to forget how much of a kid Vivi really was at heart.

"What's his name?" he asked, practically bouncing on his toes.

"Choco," I answered. "He's the reason I was able to catch up to you guys so quickly."

"He might be useful to bring along," Freya pointed out. She walked over and patted Choco on the neck. "Is he suitable for combat?"

"No, no way!" I answered, suppressing the images from earlier when I thought he was dead. "He's way to docile for that."

"But he can carry things, right?"

"Brought me all the way here."

"Can I ride him?" Vivi asked excitedly. He seemed even more fascinated by chocobos than he did windmills, and that said a lot.

"I dunno, that's up to Choco." I said. I gave Choco a pat on the neck and asked, "Well Choco? Whaddaya think?"

Choco let out a happy 'Kweh!' and bent his neck down to nudge Vivi's head, resulting in a small laugh from the latter.

"I think he likes me," Vivi said.

I stifled a laugh as I saw everything go on before me. Choco seemed like the best thing for Vivi at the moment, so sticking them together was a good idea. For now at least.

Choco kneeled down to let Vivi onto his back. Vivi looked up at me, as if for approval, and I nodded down at him. Vivi smiled and climbed onto Choco, albeit with some difficulty. I picked him up by the back of his jacket to help him up.

"Are we going already?" Zidane, who was left standing alone at the exit, asked.

"Yeah, yeah. We're going." I said.

We started walking along towards Burmecia. Vivi had some trouble holding onto Choco, but I knew he'd manage, given enough time. He was at least staying on and considering Choco's slow pace, it wouldn't be hard to stay like that. As we approached Zidane, he gave a friendly nod to the newest member of our traveling band of heroes.

"Hi there Choco," he said. "Nice to meet you."

Choco brought his head back, then brought it down onto Zidane's in a nasty head-butt, slamming him with a sound like wood hitting a rock.

"OW!" Zidane protested. "What did I do?"

It was good to be back.

----------------

Ah, that was fun! And I only had to skip two days of studying to finish the last few thousand words. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and has a closer insight into the nature of purple magic, or Chi as I'll be calling it.

Please leave a review on your way out. :D


	24. Burmecia's Destruction

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story. I only own Trevor and Kaiten, the guy with a voice in his head, and the voice in a guy's head. Try saying that; it's fun!

Author's note: Taking advantage of the new features that the site's giving here, I've opened a poll for readers to respond to. Call it research. The question for this month is "Who's your favorite Shattered Mind original character?"

Also, I wanted to apologize at how long it took me to update since that's just the kind of guy I am. I've been working way too much in my bloody classes and I've been going in and out of depression for the last few weeks about one thing or another. Everyone who's been patiently waiting for this update is very awesome and deserves a cookie! Unfortunately, I don't know where the cookies have gotten to, so everyone gets a coupon for a cookie. Almost as good, right?

Another thing I wanted to point out- I'm going to start designing things for Shattered Mind. For starters, I have a logo designed that I'd love to get turned into a cleaner version of itself so that I can start using it as a template for other drawing ideas I have. If there's anyone out there who I can commission for this line of work, please let me know. I'd greatly appreciate it.

Well, anyway, here's the next chapter to Shattered Mind. Quite frankly, I hate the beginning third of it since I wasn't really in my element, but I think the fight scene later makes up for it. At least, I hope it does.

Chapter 24- Burmecia's Destruction

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_Where am I?_

_The land around me was too bizarre. I knew I was dreaming, but I couldn't help but get deeply involved in the horror before me. It was the same place I saw the night Kaiten took over my body and dragged me away from the others. Across the wide front yard in the distance, there was the same green house on fire._

_The house was a large, triangular shaped house with a long slope for a roof in the front, stopping on a three floor drop in the very back. A shade of forest green covered the outside. The roof and the sides were all ablaze. Somewhere inside, a woman was screaming. From terror or pain, I couldn't tell, but something enticed me forward to help her._

_The screams were bad. Very bad, but despite how horrifying they made the scene feel, the worst part was definitely the blood._

_Stepping towards the house was surprisingly difficult. The field I found myself in was completely covered in blood, like a hundred people had been caught up in a slaughter. Each step was like walking through syrup. My shoes brought up strands of the stuff as I raised them. There was a sickening squish as I stepped back down._

_Even though it was just a dream, I felt more aware here than I should have been. There's always a haze of illusion when having a dream, but this place felt more like something vivid from my imagination._

_This place… I know this place…_

_Even though I couldn't be sure, there was an unmistakable feeling of déjà vu here. Not from the fire or the blood, but from the house and the screams. They seemed somehow familiar._

_Who's screaming…?_

_I picked up the pace and began running, but I could only perceive it as a slow walk. At my pace, it probably would have taken an hour to reach the front door, considering how expansive the front yard was. Yet, with each step I took, the scream changed. What started as a woman's voice soon became younger sounding, like a child's._

_Who…? …Who is that…?_

_I have to help…_

_I HAVE TO HELP…!_

Trevor.

_This is…_

Wake up Trevor.

----------------

"Trevor, it's time for your shift."

I awoke with a start. Sweat poured out of me like a sheet of water had been thrown over me. The first thing I saw was Freya, looking down on me with tired eyes. In my panicked mod, I reached up and pushed her away. She landed with a loud thud against the ground.

"What was that for?" she demanded in an annoyed whisper.

"Geez, sorry Freya!" I immediately apologized. "You startled me."

"It's alright," she said, picking herself up while giving an aggravated sigh. "Is it because of earlier?"

"Uh… yeah," I partially lied. "I guess I'm still a little on edge from that."

"Anyone would be." Freya stood up again and offered her hand to help me up. I took it and was picked up to my feet.

After we exited Gizamaluke's Grotto, we initially had a jovial mood all around. My return, as well as Choco's introduction, made everything light humored and enjoyable. Then, all that was dashed against the rocks when we saw the slaughter outside. There had been a few corpses of Burmecian soldiers inside Gizamaluke's Grotto, but nothing that made it look like much of a battle. That was because all of the fighting had occurred outside on the Burmecian side of the cave. More than one hundred lay dead outside the cavern. The Black Mages had overrun them in a matter of minutes. The field had been covered in blood, just like from my dream.

"I'm going to bed," Freya said. Wake us up at sunrise."

"Got it," I nodded. Freya went over to the sleeping bag she had set up for herself and laid down.

Sleeping bags. Something I wish I had remembered to bring. I hated sleeping on the cold ground so much. I didn't get much sleep the night before, so staying away was going to be a bitch. And seeing the massacre outside of Gizamaluke's Grotto really didn't help. At least I didn't have the middle shift like Freya did, but she had a sleeping bag, so the strategy seemed to work. I only had to stay awake for a few hours and things would be okay. I might be able to catch up on some sleep while riding on Choco's back.

"_Is it time to fight something yet?_"

_Hey Kaiten,_ I groaned.

"_What's wrong with you? Didn't get much sleep?_"

_Mmm hmm._

"_Why?_" Kaiten asked, genuinely confused. "_Just because of a few bodies strewn about?_"

_That's part of it, I guess…_

"Well if that's all, then what the hell's the other part?"

I hesitated before answering him. I usually had trouble trusting people, and Kaiten was nowhere near being an exception. Even with the small things, giving anyone any information about me was almost always a mistake. Unfortunately, since Kaiten was inside my head, I figured he might be able to do some investigating for me. At the very least, he might be able to tell me something about the dream I kept having.

_Kaiten, could you do something for me?_

"_Doubt it_."

_This is important!_

"_Don't care_."

_Kaiten, I'm serious! I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important._

"_And I doubt I'd help even if it was_."

_Don't make me force you to help._

"_How could you possibly_-"

_Celebrate good times, come on!_

_Let's-_

"_Stop, stop, stop!_" Kaiten blurted out all at once.

_Is that a 'yes' then?_

"…_Fine_," he finally said. "_What do you want, you bastard_?"

_Do you know the dream I've been having lately?_ I asked him. _The one with the burning house?_

"_No_," he answered. "_Knowing you, your dreams would be nothing but nonstop idiocy_."

_Gee, thanks,_ I said as sarcastically as I could. _Could you look into it? I need to know what it is._

Kaiten let out an annoyed sigh before answering with, "_Fine, whatever_."

I was a bit apprehensive about what the dream could have meant. Maybe it was an omen of doom, or a precursor to someone's death. I hadn't read much into the meanings of dreams, but I was sure mine were anything but good.

…_Maybe it has something to do with Kaiten fusing with me,_ I thought. It didn't seem likely, but by now, anything would be plausible.

"It's gonna be waaay too long before the sun comes up," I softly said out loud.

----------------

Hours later, we made camp and had set ourselves on our way north. A quick breakfast of bread and dried meat wasn't much considering how tired and hungry I was, but at the very least, it stopped my stomach from complaining. The small meal filled us up enough and we began marching again. After a few hours, it didn't feel like we were making any progress…

"Are we there yet?" Vivi asked nervously from atop Choco.

"We'll be there soon enough," Freya said impatiently. Concern practically dripped form her voice. I couldn't blame her. I'd probably be the same if my home was ransacked by an army of mages like hers was.

"Calm down Freya," Zidane said. "Getting worked up over this isn't going to do you any good."

"And what do you know about it Zidane!" Freya yelled suddenly. "You saw those fallen soldiers! There could be hundreds more like them in Burmecia!"

"And if there are?" Zidane retorted. "Freya, there's going to be a lot of death when we get there. Nothing we can do right now can stop that."

Freya didn't look back at Zidane as he spoke. She only turned her head to the ground and pressed her arms to her sides defensively. "I know," she said. "I know that a lot of Burmecians will have fallen, but…" she trailed off. Even though I didn't know Freya as well as Zidane, I couldn't just sit back and stay quiet the whole time.

"Freya," I began. "If you know what to expect, then you know what to strengthen yourself against." I couldn't be sure if my words were reaching her or not, but I could only talk to Freya with the things that I had experienced in life. Years of taking tests had taught me that you could never do enough studying.

Unfortunately, Freya didn't seem to see it that way. The next thing I knew, she had grabbed me by the collar and had flipped me over her back, tossing me to the ground and pressing her foot into my stomach.

"What would you know about it?" she yelled. "You've been living in Alexandria all your life! You don't have as much experience with death as anyone else here! What right do you have to give us advice?!?"

I didn't answer Freya immediately. Instead, I let her have a few seconds to calm down before I grabbed the collar of her cloak and raised her off of myself slightly. I stared at her with anger projecting from my eyes, looking straight into her as if she was no more than an enemy of mine.

"My mother is dead," I said, the coldness in my voice coming naturally. "So is my aunt. So is my uncle. And so is one of my best friends form my childhood.."

Freya seemed to loosen a little as I told her this. She lost the grimace that she once had and replaced it with a narrow frown and saddened eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't know-"

"Well now you do!" I yelled at her. I didn't like telling anyone about my past. I was never the trusting kind and telling others about those kinds of things took a lot out of me.

I thrust my arm away from me, knocking Freya to her feet. I tilted my weight backwards and kicked my feet up, doing a reverse somersault and getting back to my feet. I could feel some damp dirt on my back, but didn't pay it much attention.

"Trevor-" Freya began, but I wasn't in the mood to let her finish.

"Let's keep going." I said. "It's not much further, right?"

No one answered me. Freya gave a light grunt as she turned around and headed off to the north again without a word. Vivi only blinked from Choco's back as the chocobo began following Freya, leaving Zidane and myself behind. We both waited a moment before following them, letting them both have a decent head start ahead of us.

"Are you doing alright Trevor?" Zidane asked. "You seem a little different today."

I could tell from Zidane's tone of voice that he was becoming a little distrusting of me. Admittedly, my disappearance from the group two days before and then came back with bizarre magic powers did seem a little out of the ordinary. It would seem pretty suspicious to anyone if that were to happen to someone so quickly. However, my problems were my problems. I didn't need anyone interfering with things that they didn't need to worry about.

"I'm fine," I lied. "I just had a rough time sleeping last night."

"Are you sure that's all of it?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "It seems like you're hiding something."

"What are you implying?" I asked, a little more harshly than I intended.

"Nothing. It's just that I'm worried about you."

Somewhere from the depths of my mind, despite my foul mood, I was able to feel a level of remorse for my course choice of words. Zidane's response was able to eat away at my subtle anger and help me calm down. Knowing I had someone who cared who was watching my back was all that I needed.

"Thanks man, but I'm fine," I explained. "I'm just not used to war, you know?"

Zidane gave me an understanding nod as he brushed the back of his head. "It's alright. We've all been a little on edge today," Zidane said. "Freya's been stressing out about what condition Burmecia's in and Vivi's been too nervous to really talk much."

"What about you?" I had to ask.

"I'm just worried about everyone," he said cautiously. "I know this will hurt Freya and it'll probably hurt Vivi." Zidane paused to give me a concerned look. "You saw those Black Mages in the grotto, right?"

There had been a few Black Mages fallen to the sides, not to mention the one that I had killed, but I hadn't paid much attention to them. I was more concerned with finding my friends at the time.

"Yeah," I said with a nod.

"Well, after we fought them, Vivi just stopped moving."

"Was he alright?"

"He wasn't hurt, but he was too shocked by the thought of hurting others like him that he just froze up," Zidane said solemnly. "Since he doesn't seem to understand who or what he really is, it only made things worse for him."

Vivi's position in this war wasn't an easy one. The fact that he was on this trip so he could find out what he really was, and in turn had to kill the Black Mages who look so much like him, could do nothing other than weigh heavily on his mind. I was sure the little guy wasn't having any fun with this. I could only hope that Vivi would recover quickly.

"How has Vivi been doing lately?" I asked. "I mean, before I showed up."

"Not good," Zidane said. "He literally froze up after we killed the first one." Zidane paused as we walked so he could gather himself again. I stopped walking as well and waited for Zidane a few feet ahead of him. "It took a few minutes, but we managed to calm him down enough to keep moving. I think he's going to be really fragile for a while."

This was certainly a challenge for me. I knew a few things that could help therapeutically, but I was hardly a certified doctor or anything like that. Helping Vivi now was going to be a challenge. I pulled all the information I knew about the current situation together and tried my best to think of a solution that would help Vivi and would keep him fighting alongside us. I wasn't even sure if I could really do anything at this point.

"You've been able to help Vivi feel better before, haven't you Trevor?" Zidane asked as we continued walking again, keeping the other party members in sight. "Do you think you could help him again?"

"I'm not sure," I said, honestly for once. "If we can help him, it'll probably be through a lot of little things. Keeping him with Choco seems to be a good idea. They're getting along well." I pointed ahead to indicate how Vivi seemed to be falling asleep on Choco's back as the large bird gently walked along the field.

Zidane nodded in understanding. "But what about the Black Mages? We're bound to run into more of them."

I reached a hand behind my neck and pulled my head to the side, emitting a loud crack from my spine. It was a handy relaxation trick that always seemed to work on me when I was dealing with something I didn't want to be dealing with. Plus, it helped me focus, if only a little.

"Well, we're going to have to make sure we treat them as what they are: enemy soldiers." I explained. "Don't de-humanize them by calling them mindless dolls or raging monsters. They're just soldiers under the command of Alexandria."

"Alexandria?" Zidane asked, just in time for me to realize that I had made a huge mistake. "You think Alexandria is behind this?"

I should have put a spoiler warning up before I spoke.

"It's just a suspicion at this point," I quickly said. "Alexandria seems to be the only place that it could be from. Out of the four nations on the continent, it's the only one that makes scene, don't you think?"

"I guess," Zidane said, scratching his head. "I mean, why would Cleyra attack? They're an isolationist nation."

"And Regent Cid doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd go and start a war with Burmecia," I added.

"And Dagger did say that the barrels containing those dolls in Dali were most likely headed for Alexandria Castle, so that just makes it even more suspicious."

"Bloody hell, eh?"

Zidane glanced over from my side and raised an eyebrow. He gave me an odd look before I returned his glare and asked him why he was looking at me like that. "What kind of phrase is that?" he asked.

"What? You mean 'bloody hell'?" I asked.

Zidane nodded. "I've never heard it before," he said. "It's a little weird."

"It's my swear word," I explained. "I got into the habit of saying it instead of swearing a few years back, and it stuck with me."

"Really? Why did you do that?"

I shot Zidane a cocky grin as I answered. "Women." I told him. "From my experience, they prefer guys who don't swear constantly, so I made a habit of saying 'bloody hell' instead."

"I see."

"Besides, it's pretty catchy, don't you think?"

Zidane opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by a loud crack of thunder from overhead. I looked up and saw that in the short time Zidane and I had been talking, the sky had darkened considerably. Any trace of sunlight through the clouds was now gone, replaced by dark rain clouds. It was a perfect greeting as we reached Burmecia, considering that it was called the 'City of Eternal Rain'. I knew this was coming, but I still didn't like it. I hated rain. It made my hair look horrible, which I was rather vain about.

"Looks like we're getting close," Zidane pointed out.

"So it's going to be raining soon, isn't it?" I asked, not even trying to hide the discomfort in my voice. Zidane merely nodded at me.

"Bloody hell."

----------------

Burmecia.

Some time after the storm started, the expansive city rose up in the distance. Pillars of smoke and ash rose with it, high into the clouds over the city. The rain hanging over the city did little to quell the flames. It was almost like the clouds fed the fire pits scattered around instead of fighting them.

Whatever glory, whatever wonders, whatever splendor Burmecia had once held, none of it showed now. Now, the city's buildings were left demolished and smoking; it's citizens no doubt left dead and bleeding. What players got to see in the game was a far cleaner version than what I was seeing now. As we approached the front gates, I could see the bodies of murdered women and children that were left to rot in the streets. The blood of fallen soldiers covered the walls everywhere.

I had no idea of what Brahne thought she'd get from such genocide. If she wanted the conquest of the entire Mist Continent, she could get it without murdering the innocents.

"Oh god…" Zidane muttered. He was the only one who could talk. Seeing the destruction around here was much worse than it was in the game. I could literally feel the heat of the flames trying to char my skin, even at this distance.

Freya didn't have it any easier. She wore a mixed expression of shock and disbelief. Seeing the flames eat at the buildings and the smoke climb up into the sky was like some level of hell for her. The rest of us made our ways to the front gates of the city, but Freya slowed down her pace. Being back for the first time in so long, only to find the city burning to the ground, must have overwhelmed her. Despite the constant downpour, the fires burned fiercely in scattered sections throughout the city.

"So...this is Freya's home." Zidane uttered solemnly as we approached the charred front gate.

The few parts of the city that weren't burning or destroyed were soaked in an off-grey color. The fires gave some of the buildings a light orange tint, but other than that, the place just looked like a ghost town.

A mixture of horror and anger brought itself into my mind. "What the hell kind of psychopath would-"

"_Someone who was ordering a war_," Kaiten said, interrupting me.

"Zidane…?" Vivi meekly called out. He looked over to the blonde thief for strength. Zidane returned it by grasping his shoulder assuredly.

"What are you doing?" Zidane then called back to Freya, who was walking up to us slowly. "Get up here!"

Her expression made Freya look as dead as the city. The rain spattered against her face as she took in the horror that was once her home town.

"It's been five years…" she said. "I've been away for so long. Not a night went by when I didn't dream about home. I can't believe I'm here…" Freya left off in silence for a moment of quiet contemplation. Her hands found their way to her face, where they brushed back her hair, revealing her eyes, returned to normal. They burned with a subtle resolution that not even Burmecia's destruction could silence. "I am no longer the selfish child I was five years ago," she said proudly. "The time has come for me to serve my kingdom as a Burmecian dragon knight once again!"

"I'll do what I can to help!" Zidane said assuredly.

"Ditto," I added.

"Me too," Vivi said. He slid off of Choco's back and landed beside the large bird.

"Thank you," Freya said with a nod. "All of you."

"Let's go!" Zidane called out finally. He turned back and headed into the city. Vivi and Choco soon followed him. I lingered for only a moment as I watched Freya collect herself at the front arch. I could tell that she was hiding her feelings of despair from us. I knew all about hiding things from others. After all, I had a Terran soldier living inside my head.

With an entire city waiting for us to explore, I turned around and let Freya have a moment to herself. The rain wasn't stopping anytime soon, and I was already soaked. I could just hope that I didn't get sick from it.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" I asked as I jogged up to Zidane and Vivi. Vivi looked up at the two of us curiously. Zidane just responded by looking back at me briefly, then turning back.

"She'll be fine," he said. "Freya's much tougher than she looks. She's just shocked at seeing Burmecia like this. By the time we get to the castle, she'll be back to normal."

"The castle?" I asked, playing dumb, yet again. "What, are we going to find the king?"

"Exactly," Zidane answered. "If we can get him out of here safely, then Burmecia might have a chance at rebuilding itself. They need a leader."

"Right," I said with an understanding nod. I could see why Zidane thought that. Quite frankly, the potential outcome looked pretty good. I didn't have the heart to tell him that the king was going to end up dead.

"So, we need to get to the king, and get out," came Freya's voice as she jogged up to us. "The faster we do this, the better."

"We're not going to gain anything if we rush ourselves," Zidane said. "We might get ambushed by enemy soldiers around a corner somewhere."

"It is them again!" came an extremely nasily voice from above us. It was quickly followed by, "Most persistent, they are!"

I looked up and saw a pair of three foot tall jokers standing on a balcony just a story above us. Zorn and Thorn, Alexandria's pair of henchmen-esque jokers. They both wore similar striped suits, although one had a red and white striped cloak while the other had a blue and white striped cloak. I didn't know exactly who was who since they were both wearing such similar clothing and make-up, but I was pretty sure that Thorn was the one who talked like Yoda. Considering how dependant they were on having the approval of a master, such as Brahne, there was no question that Alexandria was somehow involved in this massacre.

"Good one Zidane," I said as sarcastically as I could. "Really nice."

"Hmm? There is one more person now," the blue joker said. He must have been Zorn.

"One more person now, there is," the red one repeated. He had to be Thorn.

Since Zidane, Freya and Vivi ran into these jokers back in Gizamaluke's Grotto, I could only assume they were talking about me.

"…He kind of looks like a girl."

"Kind of looks like a girl, he does."

"HEY!" I yelled. "Shut the hell up before I climb up there and beat the hell outta you!"

The two of them both looked down at me with raised eyebrows. "You don't scare us!" Before I could rant at them anymore, they turned back and yelled into the rooms behind themselves. "Black Mages!"

Both Zorn and Thorn stepped out of the way as a pair of Black Mages stepped forth from the rooms leading off from the balconies. The large, dark-coated wizards leaped down and landed just a few feet in front of us. They were both 'Type A' models of Black Mages. They had simple dark coats and steeple crowned hats, kind of like Vivi's. Each one of them stood as tall as I did, but their simple-looking eyes, glowing yellow peering out from under their hats, did nothing for their intimidation factor, not to mention the fact that they both looked a little chubby.

Still, they were enemies, and dangerous ones at that.

Zidane, Freya and I instinctively drew out weapons. Choco, knowing he had no place in battle, ran off and hid in an alleyway down the street where he would be safe from enemy attacks. Vivi, on the other hand, brought his hands up to his face. A clear sign of fear. If he was going to get through the rest of the game, he'd need to learn to fight guys like this.

I fell back, letting Zidane and Freya take point against the pair of mages. I had to console Vivi.

"Vivi, you know you have to fight, right?" I said.

"Y-yeah, I know, but-"

"No excuses!" I said, perhaps a little too harshly. "It's going to be like this for a while, so it's better that you get used to it sooner, rather than later."

As I talked to Vivi, Zidane and Freya were busy with each of the Black Mages. As Freya leapt high to avoid a Fire spell, Zidane threw his sword down into a mage's shoulder, cutting through its jacket and skin and sending a stream of blood flowing down to the ground.

As well as it seemed to be going for them, the Black Mages showed no sign of slowing down. The Black Mage Zidane had been fighting ignored the pain in its shoulder, assuming it could even feel it, and quickly powered up and launched a Blizzard spell at him, landing a chilling blow in Zidane's chest. Meanwhile, the other Black Mage focusing on Freya sent up the Thunder spell it had been holding in its hands and sent it up at her. Freya couldn't dodge it since she was still in the air and took a direct hit to the leg, which screwed up her landing a second later. She fell in a sudden heap before the Black Mage. It gave her a strong kick to the stomach as she laid before it, sending her flying back towards Vivi and myself.

"Yes Black Mages!" Zorn yelled from above. "Kill them all!"

"Very pleased, the queen will be!" Thorn agreed.

"Vivi, we have to help them!" I said. "They could die!"

Apparently, seeing the others get attacked was all Vivi needed. I could see him staring ahead at the enemies, scared and angry all at once. He looked back up at me and nodded in silence. I grinned back at him ad twirled both my short swords once before heading straight at one of the mindless drones.

I didn't feel the same well of anger that I felt the last time I charged a Black Mage like this. Instead, this time I felt pride. I new Vivi wouldn't leave me hanging in battle, even as hard as it was for him to fight guys like these.

I held one blade low and aimed it with both hands at my target's chest. This plan had worked last time, so there wasn't any reason to believe that it wouldn't work this time as well. I held myself low as I ran straight at it.

As I saw the Black Mage charging up a Fire spell, I knew that I wouldn't be able to dodge it. I was too far into my attack to turn back and skidding to a halt would only make me an easier, and less dangerous, target. Since I was going to get hit anyway, I decided to seal my charge into a definite blow. I leapt into the air, as high as I could, and took careful aim downwards, towards the Black Mage. As soon as I left the ground, it let off its attack. A fireball soared through the short distance between us and instantly made contact with my chest.

As the fireball burned me, I couldn't help the shout of pain I gave. As painful as it was, I grit my teeth and held onto my sword as tightly as I could. I made it through the fireball and landed less than a foot away from the Black Mage. My short sword had landed even closer.

There was now three inches of iron and mythril plunged inside the Black Mage. My plan had worked and I pressed my sword deeper into the mage's gut. I pushed the blade as hard as I could, pushing the Black Mage back to the wall behind it. Blood seeped out like a small fountain as I did, but I kept going until there was only the hilt of the sword left.

"Got'cha," I smirked. Now that my enemy was pinned and had nowhere it could go, I had to finish it off. _Pulse!_ I cried out in my mind.

…Nothing happened. I could only stare dumbfounded as the blade stood up in the Black Mage's stomach, failing to cut it in half.

_What?_ I wondered to myself. _What happened?_

"_Don't let your mind wander in battle!_" Kaiten yelled at me.

I finally snapped out of it a moment too late when the second Black Mage present released its Thunder spell on me.

I was knocked off of the first Black Mage and was sprawled out on my back in the street. I landed in a shallow puddle, winded, but not out. The falling rain did little to sooth my burned chest or stunned shoulder. I craned my head up to see the second Black Mage aiming a second spell at me. This time, a light blue energy formed in its hands. No doubt a Blizzard spell. I pushed myself up enough to get a good view of the Black Mage as it towered over me.

"Kill!" it yelled as it finished its spell.

"STOP!" came a yell from the other side of the courtyard. Before either the Black Mage or I knew it, a bolt of thunder flew across the battlefield and hit the Black Mage in the side of the head. It fell to its side and the Blizzard spell it had been holding was launched into the wall of a building across the street. I looked over to the source of the Thunder spell and saw Vivi, gripping his staff tightly and powering up another spell.

The Black Mage had somewhat recovered from Vivi's attack and was righting itself up. It had enough time to react before Vivi hit it again with another spell, Fire this time. I could only watch as the little mage took on this much bigger, and possibly stronger, mage all by himself. If he ever doubted himself in battle again, I had grounds to squish his hat in gentle protest.

"Go away!" Vivi yelled as he let off his third attack. A ball of ice formed around the Black Mage's most recent burn wound. The Blizzard spell stood in place for a moment before cracking in a small explosion a second later, leaving the wound open and blistering.

As Vivi distracted the Black Mage, I had gotten my wind back. As soon as I could move well enough, I got to my feet. Vivi couldn't keep launching spells like this and needed a reprieve. One of my short swords was still stuck in the first Black Mage, who by this time had to be dead from internal injury, but I still had a second. I swung my one sword up, feeling awkward with the mismatched weight, but still holding it well enough to strike. He blade came down quickly and buried itself in the Black Mage's head. A small gush of blood came from its head where the skull had been smashed in. The large mage soon feel to the ground in a dead heap, letting its blood seep in with the blood and rainwater from the city.

I took a few moments to recover from the aftermath of the battle, but the adrenaline running through my veins helped somewhat. I took a deep breath as the rain washed the blood that the Black Mage had bled onto me from my face.

"The general will punish you for this!" came an annoying voice from the balcony above. I turned my head and saw Zorn shaking his fist in anger at all of us.

"Yes! Very scary, it is, when the general gets mad!" Thorn agreed.

With that, the two of them scurried back into the rooms they had emerged from. With the battle over, there was nothing left for them to watch, and with the Black Mages both dead, there was nothing for them to order around.

"Get back here!" Zidane yelled. I turned and noticed that he was running towards the balcony with Freya. I had been so caught up in the battle that I hadn't even noticed them. The two of them ran together and both leapt high up to the balconies the jesters had been standing from. Freya managed to make it up in one easy jump, but Zidane could only jump high enough to catch the lip of the platform. Still, he was able to pull himself up easily enough and soon made his way into the room alongside Freya.

With those two off exploring the building, I had some time to rest. I pulled my short sword out of the first Black Mage's stomach and paced my way over to Vivi.

"Good job," I told him softly. It may have been a little hard to hear my voice over the rain, but given the seriousness of the situation, Vivi seemed to hear me just fine.

"Thanks," he said, just as quietly.

The rain continued to pour over us as I sheathed both my swords. Their short time in the rain had been enough to wash most of the blood from them. I had no way to dry them, and that bothered me, but we were going to be in this city for a while longer, so I didn't let it trouble me.

"Trevor…" Vivi said quietly. "I'm not the same as them, am I?"

"The same?" I repeated, somewhat confused. "You mean, you're your own person, right?"

"Uh huh."

I couldn't help but smile as the little mage. He was beginning to show definite signs of becoming more mature. In a way, I was proud of him. He had reached the level of sentience that many of the other Black Mages would take a much longer time to grow.

"What is it?" Vivi asked. "Did I say something weird?"

"Nah, it's just…" I paused as I tried to think of the right words to say. "The fact that you were able to realize this despite your age, shows that you're pretty smart."

"Really?" he asked, looking up at me hopefully.

I chuckled a little as I patted Vivi's hat down onto his head. It wasn't meant to hurt him, just mess with him a little. He quickly grabbed his hat and readjusted it, reshaping it in the process.

"You're your own person Vivi," I told him. "You're not that same as the rest of the Black Mages."

"Thanks," he said once more.

"As Trevor would say, 'Bloody hell!'" came Zidane's voice.

I looked over to the balconies and saw Zidane and Freya both emerging from the building. They leapt down to the street and made their ways over to Vivi and me.

"Any luck?" I asked.

"No," Zidane answered. "By the time we got in there, both of those little clowns were gone."

"Bloody hell," I just had to say. "They must've had an escape route planed ahead of time."

"It seems like that's the case," Freya commented.

"I did find this though," Zidane said, producing an overly ornate bell from his belt. If my guess was correct, then it was a Burmecian Bell, which we could use to get passed the security checkpoint outside of the castle.

"A bell?" I asked. Keeping track of what to know and what not to know was getting easier the more I went on, almost like a second nature by this point.

"They're like keys," Zidane explained. "If we ring it near a locked door with a bell on it, then it'll open."

"Pretty weird security system," I said. "Can't someone just use a normal bell in its place and get in that way?"

"The bell is shaped to emit a special tone when rung," Freya said, taking up the explanation. "A normal bell wouldn't have any effect on a bell-locked door."

"Well, that's good to know," I muttered.

"We're wasting time," Freya pointed out. "We need to go now."

"She's right," Zidane said. "I don't like what those two clowns said about there being a general here. He could be dangerous."

Freya took off up the street leading to the castle. It carried itself above all the other buildings in the city, marked by the flowing flags and high towers, although they were all now burning. I soon followed Freya, alongside Zidane and Vivi, and marched heavily against the pounding rain.

"_The General, eh_?" Kaiten laughed. "_Oh, this'll be fun_."

_You're insane_, I pointed out. _If you've read the right memories, then you know that we don't stand much of a chance against her._

General Beatrix was easily the most skilled warrior among Alexandria's forces. She had more techniques at her disposal and more kills under her belt than most people ever accomplished in their lives. I knew that if I wasn't extremely careful against her, I would die. Just like the Festival of the Hunt, I had no belief that I would come out victorious. I could only hope to survive.

"_Are you really that pessimistic?_"

_Are you really that arrogant?_

Kaiten let out a piercing laugh, causing me to wince slightly at the sound of it. "_You really don't get it, do you?_" he asked. "_You have no place in real combat. I mean, you can't even use magic right!_"

_Do you know something about that?_ I asked in a way which sounded more like a demand. _Why couldn't I use Pulse earlier?_

"_Because you didn't use any energy, dumbass!_" he yelled. "_Not only did you not use your anger, you completely forgot to use your weak 'flailing arms' idea. You had nothing to use!_"

I almost lost pace with the others as I realized that Kaiten was right. I had rushed into battle and didn't think about preparing. If the same thing happened against stronger enemies, or perhaps an ambush, we might not have gotten out nearly as cleanly as we did.

"_That's why I've been telling you to get angry!_" he ridiculed. "_Not because it's fun or because it's entertaining, but because it's safer for everyone_."

_Fine_, I said with a sigh. As much as I didn't want to admit it, he was right. _As much as I don't want to, I'll start using anger more. But only when I really need to!_

"_Glad you finally see it my way_," Kaiten added. He gave a slight laugh along with it, but it was probably just to annoy me.

As if to give us warning of our impending fight against Alexandria's strongest, the rain picked up, pounding against the ground and ourselves even harder than every before.

"This is going to be a hell of a night," I said for everyone to hear. I was the only one who knew what was going to happen, but everyone shared my sense of dread.

Perhaps it was better they remain ignorant.

----------------

There. Only one more chapter to go. After that, Book 1 is finished. And don't worry. I'll do my best to make the next fight scene my best. Look forward to Shattered Mind: Issues, Chapter 25- General Beatrix.

Coming soon!


	25. General Beatrix

Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's note: Well, it's finally been a whole year. One complete year. I published the first chapter of Shattered Mind: Issues one year ago on December 9th, 2006, and now I'm publishing the last chapter on the same date, one year later. Rather fitting, wouldn't you say? I had to work extra hard to get this chapter out in the time it did, writing more than 7000 words today alone! Just goes to show how much I love this new chapter, not to mention my wonderful fans.

I hope no one minds me taking a small break in order to get my head screwed onto my shoulders correctly. It's just that I've been looking forward to this chapter for more than a year now. I love it very much. XD You'll see why soon enough.

Ah, but don't let that bother you now. Despite the rush at the end, I consider this to be one of my finest chapters, if not the finest. Enjoy.

Chapter 25- General Beatrix

FINAL CHAPTER OF BOOK 1: ISSUES!

----------------

"I could really go for an umbrella right about now," I muttered as we climbed the hills leading up to the castle.

Apparently, Burmecia had been built upon a shallow foothill from the surrounding mountains, according to Freya. The inhabitants at the time thought it would be a good spot to live and would an endless supply of water because of the eternal rainfall upon the lands, which made it perfect for indoor farming and irrigation, once it was controlled. Also, being placed against a mountainside would give it a defensive edge against any military force that attempted to invade.

Well, that was the theory anyway.

We had all been walking in silence for a while because of the solemn air the city still carried. Freya seemed too afraid to speak, Vivi was still adjusting to his new resolution, and Choco was a bird who couldn't speak anyway. I could only assume that Zidane had the same reason as I did in not speaking due to the moment not being right for it. Being cheery in this situation wasn't going to happen and trying to put a positive spin on things would be disrespectful.

I could only hope that we would all get out of the city alive.

"_So this… Beatrix… uses a saber in combat?_" Kaiten asked, breaking the silence for only the two of us.

_She did in the game anyway,_ I answered. _Making a battle plan?_

"_It's better than improvising and hoping that we don't all get killed_," he sneered back. "_I know some people may be planning that, but I'm not so childishly hopeful_."

My teeth gritted themselves reflexively. Here I was, being insulted practically to my face, and I couldn't reach out and punch the guy doing it. It seemed like Kaiten had the edge in this argument. All I could do was ignore him and try to not let him get to me.

The deeper we went into the city, the worse it became. What started as a few crumbled and or burning walls before near the beginning of the city turned into utter demolition as we neared the castle. Apparently, as the Black Mages pushed deeper, the fighting increased and became more frantic. Spells and attacks were launched left and right without any regard for the buildings themselves. This city was now nothing more than the result of a nightmare.

The destruction had eventually led us to a large flight of stairs. They rose up for almost a hundred steps, leading to a separate level that the city rested on. To me, it seemed like a hierarchical thing. Keep the king and the upper class people up above the rest, a pointless demonstration of superiority. Of course, like Kaiten had pointed out before, I was just assuming things. I had no grounds for being mad at the king or any of the other Burmecians for how they lived.

"Zidane…" Freya called out, breaking the silence that overtook us. "Burmecia's royal palace is beyond these steps. It must be in ruins, just like everything else. I can't bear to see it like that."

Zidane sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was clearly tired. Hell, we all were. Plus, the knowledge that General Beatrix was waiting for us inside the palace really didn't help any.

"I understand, but we can't go back now," Zidane said. "We have to find out who's behind this."

"U-um…" Vivi spoke up. He fiddled with the fringe of his hat as he spoke. "…I wanna find out who those guys were…and why I look like them."

"Look, Vivi's scared, too," Zidane said with subtle confidence. "But we have to face reality."

"There could still be people in the city," I explained. "If that's the case, then we need to help them."

I knew there was a couple waiting in another plaza just up these steps. Hopefully, we weren't too late to save them. Otherwise, the husband of the two, who was badly wounded in combat, would be crushed under an enormous statue. I couldn't let that happen if I knew about it so far ahead of time.

"Come on, Freya." Vivi encouraged. "It'll be okay."

Freya looked down at Vivi in pity. She kneeled down and put her hand on his shoulder, as a parent telling a child a dark truth would. "Vivi… Do you really know what you're doing?" she asked. "The answer you seek may forever change your life for the worse."

Vivi stared back at Freya in silent confusion. He linked a few times before turning his head down, aware of the weight of Freya's words. "Um… Y-Yeah… But… But I have to... I have to find out who I am... I'm scared... What if I'm not even human...?"

"Vivi..."

This would've been an excellent time for one of my motivational speeches to the little guy, but Zidane beat me to it with another important factoid.

"Someone's coming!" he called out.

Zidane and Freya took positions in front of Vivi, facing the top of the stairs. I held my ground by Vivi's side, effectively cutting off any chance a person would have at getting to the little mage. Choco stayed back, as he was now accustomed to doing, lest he get caught up in battle. If the same thing happened now that happened in the game, we'd be fine, but if it was a monster or one of the Black Mages, we'd need to be able to go on the offensive quickly.

Fortunately, my assumptions were correct. Instead of an enemy, a Burmecian soldier and his family came running down the steps at almost full speed. His name was Dan, if I remembered correctly. He stopped as soon as he saw us and pulled a sword out, teeth bared, ready to fight.

"Who are you!?" the soldier demanded. "Are you in league with the black mages!?"

"No!" Zidane yelled. I thought he was going to draw his weapon, but fortunately, he didn't. Doing so would only serve to make Dan more nervous and distrusting of him, which really wasn't what we needed here.

"You're lying!" Dan accused. "There's a black mage right behind you!"

"No!" Vivi cried out. "I didn't do anything! I would never hurt anyone!"

"Lies!"

"He's telling the truth!" Freya said, calmly stepping in.

Dan was so panicked that he must not have seen her from the beginning. Seeing Freya seemed to calm him down instantly. He stared at the Dragon Knight for a moment before recognizing his old friend. "...Freya!?" he said finally.

"It's good to see you, Dan." Freya said, calming the situation down considerably. Dan sheathed his sword and Zidane had calmed down a bit himself, backing off a little so Freya could talk to her old friend again. I just stood back and kept an eye on things to make sure it all went ok.

"Damn, I haven't seen you in years. Where've you been!?" Dan said excitedly. However, a quick glance back to his family, who had been standing behind him, too scared to move. A look came over Dan, as he realized something. "Actually, this isn't the best time to talk! We've gotta get out of here fast. There are black mages swarming all over the place."

With that, Dan and his wife and two kids ran passed us. I stepped back to give them room. As they ran passed, one of the kids gave me an odd look. It was something like confusion, but considering what he had been putting up with for the last while, I couldn't blame him. Still, I couldn't help but pick up a hint of fear in his gaze, almost like I was one of the Black Mages who had attacked his home and murdered his friends and neighbors.

I turned away, letting them pass unharmed. Something about that kid's stare shook me.

_It was so similar to Shadow's…_

"What are you waiting for!?" Dan yelled from the other side of the stairs. I turned back and saw him yelling at us to keep moving.

"Where is the king?" Freya said, being the first one of us to respond.

"I don't know. I didn't see him in the palace." Dan answered. "Well, I'm going. I have my own family to worry about. Freya, forget about the king and get out of here! We're no match for those Black Mages!"

With that, Dan ran down the stairs and joined his family in escaping the city. I could only hope that they all made it out alive. Dan was a bit of an ass, but he was a good person, I believed. I saw no real reason why he shouldn't be allowed to get out of the city with his family in tact.

"I will protect my home and my king at any cost." Freya announced to the rest of us. I knew she was true in her convictions and that we'd make it to the palace, but I could still feel the gloom that hung in the air. Then again, maybe I was being a cynic. I hoped that was all of it anyway.

"Let's go to the palace." Freya said, receiving a nod from the rest of us. We began walking again and made our way up the covered stairway and headed up to the upper level of the city, where we'd be at least a little closer to our goal in this now-wretched city.

----------------

Being sent into the pouring rain was even worse than the first time we had entered the city. Out here in the upper section of the city, it was heavier and came on much faster. My hair never had a chance to dry in the stairway, but by this point, I was beginning to wonder if it would ever dry before the end of my lifetime.

The street split before us, one way going to the left and the other going right. The castle was right in front of us, beyond the row of buildings in front of us. Rubble from an earlier attack blocked our way of going around, meaning the only way we could really go was through the building ahead of us.

"We'll have to go through the steeple up ahead," Freya explained. "It's faster than climbing over the rubble."

"Not to mention it might not be stable," Zidane added. "One wrong move could cause it all to collapse on us."

"Hooray for collapsible stuff," I added, in my usual attempt at dry humor. I was too drained to come up with something that was actually funny.

The steeple ahead of us, as it apparently used to be, had suffered some minor damage from all the fighting. There were scorch marks here and there along the outside, but for the most part, it was still in tact. It didn't look like it was going to fall over any time soon. A double staircase was set up on the right and left side of the building, both leading up to the second floor.

"Once we get through here, we'll be a single plaza away from the palace," Freya announced. "Let's hurry."

We were about to move out again when there was a sudden crash from down the street. A Burmecian soldier had crashed through a broken doorway in a wrecked house, falling limp to the ground as he landed.

"Hey! Guys, stop!" I called out as I saw the guy slowly recover from his apparent attack. He staggered to his feet slowly and struggled to make his way over to us. He was clutching his arm in pain. Blood was seeping out from underneath the cloth on the arm he was holding.

"Get out of here!" the soldier called as he ran down the street towards us. "They're coming!"

"Who?" Zidane called back. "Who's coming?"

Zidane's answer didn't come from the soldier. Instead, it came from the pair of Black Mages that charged out of the building the Burmecian had come from. They turned slowly, almost like robots and began their charge towards all of us. They raised their arms and began focusing Fire spells in their hands.

"Get down!" Freya yelled as the Black Mages released their attacks. The soldier was just barely able to make it out of harm's way as the fireballs flew over his head and landed only a few feet away from him on the street. Quickly, he picked himself up and ran the rest of the distance to our small group.

"You have to help!" he begged. "My friends are trapped in the steeple. I need to get them out of here!"

"Kill!" came the Black Mages' voices from down the street. They powered up another set of attacks. Their hands glowed a bright orange as they gathered up flames in their hands again.

"Look out!" Freya yelled. With their next attack, the Black Mages would most likely be aiming for all of us, meaning their next attack was more likely to hit someone.

_CRACK_.

Before the Black Mages could unleash their attack, the balcony of the nearest building was caught in an explosion, sending wood and mortar out into the street, landing upon the Black Mages and halting their advance. The spells they had been holding went off, creating a muffled BOOM underneath the cluttered rubble. The explosions in such an enclosed area would have been enough to kill them, or mortally wound them at the very least. I looked back and saw Vivi clutching his staff.

"I thought it might help," he explained.

"You're getting a cookie for this,"

"My name is Sergeant Grey," the Burmecian explained. "I left my friends Kal and Wei inside the steeple to keep them safe while I went out and looked for other survivors, but I couldn't find anyone."

Freya tensed up noticeably. She tilted her head down slightly and turned away to watch at the castle, no longer all that far away. Despite hearing the news of having so many of her people killed, she seemed remarkably stoic.

"They're in the steeple, right?" Zidane asked. "Well, we'll just go in and get them, then you can all escape."

"Yes," Grey said. "But what about you? You aren't staying in the city, are you?"

"We still need to find the King and save him," Freya said. Her voice was as calm and clear as ever.

"You're crazy! We need to get out of here!" Grey said. "The King-"

Grey was cut off as a fireball went off on his back. Blood sprayed from his back as he stumbled forward slightly, before falling down onto his stomach, groaning from pain. His back had been seared through, leaving the first layer of skin on his back burnt through. If he wasn't wearing armor, he probably would have been killed.

"No!" I yelled reflexively. I looked up and saw another pair of Black Mages crawling over the rubble covering the first pair of Black Mages. They easily made their way down the pile of burnt refuse and were now making their ways towards us.

"Those… bastards!" Freya yelled. She pulled out her spear and ran straight out at the Black Mages.

"Freya!" I called out. I pulled out my short swords and charged after her. I felt the same energy fill my body that I needed for my Chi attacks. It was better than waiting for myself to gather up the energy to use them. Kaiten was right in that regard at least.

As the energy gathered, I pushed it towards my swords. The best way to fight most of the enemies in Gaia was to do it quickly and efficiently. Freya could handle one of the Black Mages on her own while I took the second. A single Pulse would be enough to finish one of them off. If Freya was still having trouble, I'd help her out however I could once my target was dead.

The Black Mages started the battle off by charging up another round of spells. Freya's target started a Blizzard spell while mine began a Thunder spell. Their spells gathered in their palms while Freya and I ran side by side at them. Fortunately for us, they picked the wrong spells to hit us with.

As one Black Mages tried to use Blizzard on Freya, she leapt high into the air. The spell passed harmlessly beneath her, where a large ball of ice formed, quickly shattering into hundreds of pieces seconds afterwards. Freya, in the meantime, brought her spear down into the Black Mage's arm. She cut cleanly through, leaving a long gash deep into the Black Mage's skin. Blood poured out of its wound and pooled onto the ground. It buckled slightly, but the attack wasn't enough to stop it.

Meanwhile, I was having troubles of my own. The Black Mage I was charging released its attack straight for my chest. With no other option coming to mind because of how fast everything was going for me, I did the first thing that came to mind and hit the ground in a roll. It was only by sheer chance that the attack missed. I picked myself up immediately and continued my assault. With the gap between us closed so much, there wasn't anything the Black Mage could do to stop me. I drove my short sword forward and impacted strongly. I was a little off target, my sword going into the small of its side rather than its chest, but with Chi, it hardly mattered.

"Gotcha now," I taunted. The Black Mage looked down at me with its expressionless eyes as I sent the remaining energy needed into my sword. After a second, I had more than enough to cut this guy in half.

_Puls-_

I wasn't able to finish my attack. Before I could unleash the wave of destruction on the Black Mage, it reached out with both its hands and grabbed my throat. I had been so focused on it being a magic user that I completely forgot melee attacks. Kaiten wasn't going to let me live this down for a while.

With the Black Mage strangling me, I couldn't do much to attack. I didn't want to remove my one short sword from its gut since it was my only route of attack at the moment, but there was so little I could do with it there anyway. The Black Mage's reach was long enough to keep me away from using Pulse effectively since I didn't have a good grip on the blade. My best chance, it seemed, was to hold my ground and hope Freya finished her Black Mage off soon enough to help me.

As I looked over to my side, I saw that Freya was still busy fighting. She had managed to cut one of the mage's arms off at the elbow, effectively stopping it from using its magic well, but now it had gone into a fit of rage, swinging at her with its massive hands, trying to crush her however it could. It was bleeding out pretty quickly, but it was still dangerous. At the moment, it seemed there was nothing Freya could do to help me. I turned back to the Black Mage, desperately trying to find a way out of the mess I was in.

As I started to black out, I could feel an intense heat gathering at my neck. Since both of the Black Mage's hands were around my throat, I could only assume it was charging up another magic spell. It was going to blow my neck open from within its grasp.

"S…stop…" I barely managed to speak. My teeth gnashed against each other as I spoke. The Black Mage only pressed its attack further, gripping my neck tighter. The blood flow to me head slowed to almost a halt and nearly caused me to pass out. I was gasping for breath as much as I could now. Still, knowing that the Black Mage wasn't doing as I told it too was beginning to really piss me off.

"_Are you just going to take this?_" Kaiten yelled at me. "_Fight back you idiot!_"

_You're… not helping!_ I told Kaiten as my last few thoughts struggled to make sense. If I didn't do something soon, I really was going to die. My recklessness, it seemed, would be my end.

"Take this!"

Fortunately, aid did come for me, but not from whom I thought it would. I looked down and saw Sergeant Grey by my side. His sword was now buried deep within the Black Mage's chest. He was busy twisting the blade and doing whatever he could to distract the monster at my throat. The grip around my neck loosened, but there was still the heat gathering at my neck. I probably had only a few short seconds before the mage's spell blew my head off.

In a last ditch effort, I raised the short sword that wasn't stuck within my enemy already and pointed it at its neck. I didn't have the range to actually reach its throat, but then again, I didn't need it. I sent energy into the blade and let it gather at the tip. I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my face.

"Pulse."

A ruing of energy soared out from the blade. It ripped through the Black Mage's arms, severing them completely. The arms both fell to my sides with the Fire spell still within them. Without something to support it, the magic quickly faded away into nothingness. My throat was still a little soar, but it was much better than the other outcome which I came so close to experiencing.

The Black Mage, in the meantime, staggered backwards. It seemed stunned by the loss of its arms, but more in the sense of not understanding why they were missing. I fell to the ground, still recovering from not being able to breath.

Grey, on the other hand, took the opportunity to avenge his allies. He pulled his sword out of the Black Mage's sides, opening a deep and heavily bleeding wound. Grey swung his sword over his head and made contact with the Black Mage's chest, digging deep and piercing its heart and one lung. The mage stumbled backwards and collapsed on the ground, dead from internal injuries and blood loss.

With one down, I glanced over at Freya. The second Black Mage had apparently lost too much blood. A huge pool of the stuff was gathered at its feet, where the mage now stood, barely able to do anything. Freya took one swing and cut deep into the mage's chest, where even more blood began spraying out. It quickly succumbed to its blood loss and fell to the ground, dead.

"Are you alright?" Grey asked the both of us.

"I'm fine," I answered. "How about you?"

"I won't let these bastards kill me that easily," Grey explained proudly. "I will survive and do whatever it takes to rebuild Burmecia."

"God speed." Freya said dryly. She seemed no more tired than she did before, despite how much jumping around she did in combat. "I will join you with that as soon as we've rescued the King and have driven these forces out of our city."

With the moment calming down, I pulled both of my short swords together and sheathed them. I guess I wasn't as good a fighter as I liked to imagine myself as. I rubbed my neck gently to sooth the slight burn I had gotten from the fight. Grey, however, had another solution and handed over a potion to me.

"Use this," he instructed. "If you're going to go further into the city, you'll need it."

"Thanks," I said, extremely grateful. I popped open the top of the vial and drank the blue liquid inside. The odd taste didn't seem like much to me anymore, but that may have been because I was getting used to it by now. Still, it made my neck feel much, much better, and that was all I cared about at the moment.

"_Well, you certainly took your time to figure that out_," Kaiten said. "_Here I thought you were going to die like an idiot_."

_I guess I can't think as thoroughly when I'm over-excited._ I explained. _But at least I got us out of there well enough, didn't I? And stop taking every opportunity to insult me!_

"Hey, here's Zidane?" Freya asked. I looked back to where she was looking at and saw that Zidane wasn't around. That would explain why he didn't help out in the battle just now, but it still didn't help explain what he was doing. Vivi was standing by Choco, patting his side gently, but other than that, there wasn't much going on.

"You mean your friend with the tail?" Grey asked. "I asked him to help my friends who were still stuck in the steeple. I told him I wanted revenge on these monsters too much and he was willing to let me do so. It was very considerate of him."

"Yeah, that sounds like Zidane," I commented.

"Grey!" came a voice from behind us. I turned again to face the steeple and saw Zidane leading a pregnant Burmecian woman and an injured soldier out of the building. Grey rejoiced at once upon seeing them alive and only mildly injured.

"Kal! Wei!" Grey called back. He ran the short distance to them and took Kal, the injured soldier, from Zidane's arms.

"Are you two alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine, but Kal was hurt by those monsters," the woman, Wei, explained. Vivi hid himself behind Choco a little in order to avoid confrontation with these three. "He can't move on his own."

Grey shifted his weight so that he could support Kal easier. In this way, they had a better chance of escaping the city in a timely manner.

"The route out of the city should be clear for you," Freya said. "Regent Cid will be willing to take you in."

"Thank you all for your help," Grey said. "I hope everything works out for you and that you can save the King."

"Thanks again, pal." Kal directed at Zidane. "Maybe I'll see you again in Lindblum. By then, my kids'll be born. You'll definitely have to come and see them."

"I'm looking forward to it," Zidane said with a friendly nod. "Take care."

Zidane, Freya, Vivi, Choco and myself watched as the three Burmecians slowly made their ways out of the city. It was somewhat arduous seeing Kal wince at every step he took, but I knew that all three of them would make it out, and that was the important part.

"Well, that was fun," I joked. "Shall we press on?"

"We're wasting time otherwise," Freya said. "Let's go."

Without waiting for confirmation, Freya just turned around and walked up the stairs into the steeple. The door fell as she opened it, but she hardly seemed to notice. Zidane and I followed closely enough, making sure to step over the fallen door. Vivi and Choco had a little more trouble. The steps were rather large for someone of Vivi's stature, so he had to take each step slowly. Choco was a chocobo and wasn't used to using steps. A single step took up half of his foot and he wasn't able to get a great grip on anything.

"Choco, are you going to be able to catch up?" I called down to the struggling bird. He was making progress, but it looked awkward for him.

"K-kweh!" Choco called back. His legs were shaking and he seemed to stumble at every step, but at least he wasn't falling.

"Zidane! Let's go!" Freya called from the other side of the steeple's top floor. Zidane looked back at me and shrugged.

"Freya and I are going to press on and wait for you at the other side of the building," he said. "Can you three catch up soon enough?"

"I think so," I said with an air of confidence. "We'll be there soon enough."

"Good. See you soon," Zidane joked. He took off into the badly lit room and walked along a thin platform of a hallway to the door on the other side. Inside, there was a fallen statue on the floor below. That must have been where Kal and Wei were holding out. Cracks in the ceiling allowed form some light in come in. What little light there was was still better than nothing. The building was damaged, but at least it was still stable.

Meanwhile, Vivi had managed to make it the rest of the way up the steps. Choco was still struggling, but he was almost to the top. Vivi was breathing hard by the time he reached me.

"You alright Vivi?" I asked. The stair weren't that steep. He should have been fine.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "It's just my staff."

"What?" I asked, confused. "What about it?"

"It's just too hard to cast magic with it," Vivi explained. "I used to be able to cast spells whenever I wanted, but now it's getting harder and harder."

A few ideas went through my head to explain Vivi's predicament. His staff could have just been wearing out, his magic could be running out, although I doubted that, or he could be leveling up. If the latter was the case, then he would need another spell to generate his new powers with. And old, used up staff wouldn't be as effective as a newer, stronger one. In two out of these three possibilities, it seemed like the problem laid with the staff.

"We'll see about getting you a new staff as soon as possible," I assured him. "That might take the stain away."

"Ok," Vivi said. He seemed to like the idea. His current staff wouldn't be able to do much for much longer anyway. A new one would probably teach him a new spell as well.

By now, Choco had finally made his way to the top platform, where it evened out. He shouldn't have any trouble moving anymore. I gave a nod to Vivi and Choco, then proceeded through the doorway myself. A I walked, I noticed that there wasn't any door leading to the other side of the building from the floor below. It was never explained well in the game, but I guessed that that was the reason why we had to use the second floor to continue out trek.

Reaching the other side of the building, we were exposed to more rains and darker skies. The sky over the castle seemed gloomy and ominous, which made perfect sense since there were only enemy forces left by now. I could feel my heart rate increase just by thinking about the battle that was to come.

The plaza we found ourselves into was the scene of a massacre. Bodies, both of Black Mages and Burmecians were scattered everywhere. Black Mages had swords and spears sticking out of their chests. Burmecians were scorched and burned ion several places all over their bodies, some to the point where they could no longer be identified. The death toll easily reached 40 or 50 bodies in this area alone. A large fountain was constructed in the center of the plaza. Most of the bodies had been collected there.

Vivi gasped as he saw the sight unfold before him. I wasn't used to things like this, but at least I could cope. Vivi was still a child and didn't know that much of death and destruction. He could only stare wide-eyed at the bodies and the stunning amount of bloody splashed everywhere.

"Vivi…?" I said softly. "Vivi, we need to keep moving."

"Wha- oh. Right," he stuttered. He gave me one quick look and looked back at the plaza. Silently, he made his way towards the palace, taking the long way around the fountain so as to avoid the bodies.

"_My, my_," Kaiten remarked. "_I haven't seen death like this si_nc_e… yesterday actually. Remember all the Burmecians we found dead outside of the cavern?_"

_You're not helping again, jackass_, I scolded. _And if you're going to annoy me, at least do it when I don't have so much on my mind._

"_What are you talking about? That's the best time to bother someone._"

_Stop it!_

"_Don't you know anything about psychological warfare?_"

"Will you shut up?!?" I bellowed. My voice echoed throughout the small plaza, but was dampened by the rain and water everywhere. Nevertheless, it was loud enough for Vivi and Choco to hear.

"Is everything ok Trevor?" the little mage asked, now on the other side of the plaza. It seemed he had stopped to wait for me.

I recovered enough of myself in order to respond. "Yeah, I'm fine," I told him. My anger always had a way of building quickly and taking control of my decisions. It seemed the more I went along in Gaia, the harder it became to control. Pretty soon, everyone was going to think I was some violent sociopath with nothing more on his mind than killing enemies and yelling at himself.

Apparently, my voice must have traveled better than I thought because Zidane and Freya came charging out of one of the buildings, not too far from where Vivi was standing.

"Is everything ok?" Zidane asked. His tone made it obvious that he was genuinely worried.

"Fine, fine," I repeated. "I'm just getting sick of seeing all the fallen Burmecians."

No one said a thing. The rain beat down on the ground and everyone seemed to avert their eyes, lest they happen to see a corpse of a dead Burmecian. I took this as a chance to cross the plaza and join my friends as they began walking towards the castle again. We were on the final street. Just a little more and we'd be there.

I an attempt to change the subject, Zidane walked over to Vivi, holding what appeared to be a large, blue stick. I soon recognized it as the Lightning Staff. With that, Vivi's Thunder spells would be charged up. It would be useful in our future battles.

"Here Vivi," he said. "You can probably use this."

Vivi took the new staff and examined it carefully. It was long and slender, but short enough for him to use. The head bent a little and allowed a few inches to point in a separate angle, making the thing look like an oddly shaped '7' in a way. A thick blue stripe flowed down both sides of the staff, accentuating the golden stripes beside them quite well. It was a very nice weapon in almost every way.

"Thanks Zidane," Vivi said. "Where'd you get this?"

"There was a storage room back in the plaza that we raided," the blond thief explained. "We found that and a few potions, antidotes and an elixir in case someone gets seriously hurt."

"Not to mention this," Freya added. She indicated her new spear by holding it out ahead of herself. I knew her new spear was the Mythril Spear. It's shaft and head were neatly integrated with blue and green metals, detailed so finely that it was hard to tell how many lines of color there were running along the length of the weapon. Again, a fine new weapon.

"Well, we seem pretty well off, don't we?" I asked. Two new weapons and some more supplies, the most notable being the elixir. It was able to recover a person's entire heath to perfection. I could only hope that we didn't need to use it any time soon.

The rest of the walk up to the castle was, as so many others, a silent one. There wasn't much to say in this situation. Death hung around every corner with a new body or a new splash of blood on the ground, and every step closer we took to the castle only made our hopes seem more futile. Approaching the once great building revealed the intense damage that we couldn't see before when we entered the city. There were more blast marks here than in most of the city. Alexandria must have used the chance to decrease Burmecia's morale by destroying the castle. As sadistic as it was, it was probably effective.

"Geez, this is terrible…" Zidane said when we got to the outside of the castle. A large statue which, miraculously was left mostly unharmed from the Black Mages, decorated the entire side of the wall which we now faced. It was of a Burmecian knight with a spear in hand, standing proudly as it watched over the city. There wasn't much he had left to watch over now. "Freya, I'm sorry, but from the looks of this, I don't think the King made it."

Freya didn't have anything to respond with. All the stress and worry that she had been feeling ever since we embarked on this journey came crashing down onto her in one enormous heap. Ever ounce of hope she may have held was now useless. She collapsed to her knees in a weakened state.

"Freya…" Zidane began, but held off. We could both tell that talking to her wasn't going to do any good for anyone. The best thing to do now was to find out what to do next.

"Guys, let's go see what's over there." Zidane said, indicating a darkened corner of the castle. It lead to a corridor somewhere, but beyond that, I didn't know where. Zidane, Vivi, Choco and I began heading towards it, when-

"AAHHH!!!"

We turned around quickly to see Freya jumping up ridiculously high. She managed to make it up the entire side of the castle in a single jump. It must have been four stories or so. How Dragon Knights like her could leap that high I could only link as a trait of being a Burmecian. Not a bad trait at all.

"Freya!" Zidane called upon running back to where Freya had leapt from.

"There's someone inside the palace!" she called down from her high perch. "What are you waiting for? Get up here."

With that, Freya ran inside the palace. How she would manage to find her way around after that I didn't know. All that mattered now was getting inside.

"You make it sound so easy…" Zidane remarked sarcastically. "I guess I'll start here."

In a single leap, Zidane managed to get a good grip on a section of the statue. He righted himself up easily. The years of being an acrobat in action obviously paid off for him at times.

"Come on," he called down to Vivi and myself.

"Um…okay." Vivi called back nervously. He took a small running start…

…and face-planted into the foot of the statue.

"Oh, man." Zidane said upon seeing Vivi injure himself.

"Are you okay?" I asked the little mage.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Vivi said, picking himself up. He brushed his jacket a few times to get rid of some grime that had stuck to it from the foot of the statue.

"I'm gonna go on ahead," Zidane called down from his place a few feet over our heads. "Try to find a way up here. I'll meet you up top."

"Got it," I called back. Zidane began a complicated series of jumps which lead to him gaining altitude as he leapt from spot to spot on the big statue. Before long, he would be the top and would be joining Freya on the other side of the ruined wall.

"Well, this'll be fun," I joked. "Stay here Choco," I told the large bird. "We don't know what's on the other side of the wall here."

Choco let out an obedient 'Kweh' and sat himself beneath some shelter on the castle, out of the rain. I thought he almost looked like a giant chicken when he sat.

The only way Vivi and I really had to go was down the dark corridor that Zidane had indicated earlier. As dark as it was, it was the only way we had to go. I could have hoped that there would be a torch or something we could use to light the way or something, but when has hoping for things like that ever worked for me? Stumbling around in the dark was the way to go it seemed.

"Stay close behind me, alright?" I spoke to Vivi.

"O-ok…" he said nervously.

"Scared?" I asked calmly. It was understandable. After all, we were finally at our goal, only to find it as empty as a ghost town. This place, if anything, was supposed to be a last bastion of resistance against the invading army, but instead, it had been abandoned in order to preserve what few remaining Burmecians there were.

"A little…" Vivi said. "Aren't you?"

"Well…" I began. "I guess I'm a little nervous too. I mean, who knows what's going on, or where the King is."

"Yeah. I hope he's alright.'

Talking to Vivi had me distracted. Because of it, I didn't see the Burmecian soldier running towards me and nearly ran right into him. Instead, he reacted at the last second and merely knocked into my shoulder as he ran by. I knew what this meant though. If he was running by already, then it could only mean…

"Vivi, we need to go, now!"

"Why?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

I didn't answer his question. Instead, I picked up the pace and broke into a run. There wasn't much more to the corridor anyway. It opened up to a wide-open courtyard where the rain's fury seemed its most intense.

The first thing I saw was Zidane and Freya, standing defensively with their backs facing Vivi and myself. The next thing I noticed, much to my dismay, was General Beatrix, standing before them. Alexandria's deadliest knight with several hundred kills under her belt was before us, ready to fight us with every spell, every swing of the blade and with every drop of malice within her being.

"I once killed a hundred knights single-handedly," she announced to Zidane and Freya as a show of dominance. "To me, you two are nothing more than insects."

I knew they wouldn't last long with or without our help. Either way, it seemed almost definite that we would lose. I mean, we were fighting someone with far more battle skill than everything we had fought put together up until this point. There was no way we had a chance of defeating her here. Nevertheless, I wasn't about to back down from a fight like this. Not when my friends needed me. I ran into the courtyard with my short sword drawn. Vivi was right behind me.

"So more of you have come to meet your deaths?" Beatrix gloated over us. "What fools."

Beatrix was wielding her sword, Save the Queen. It was a razor sharp saber coated with the blood of her enemies, something like a testament to her skill. She was wearing a silver breastplate and a blood red battle skirt. Her right eye was covered with a wide silver eye patch which took up half of her face. However, her most notable feature was her stare. It was cold and brutal. Disciplined, yet it belonged to someone who held the potential to kill everyone in a room without breaking a sweat or shedding a tear.

In short, we were screwed.

Beatrix wasted no time in getting the battle started. She launched herself straight for Freya, swinging down hard onto Freya's new spear. She swung again and again, constantly clanging metal against metal. Freya could only hope to keep up as Beatrix's speed greatly overpowered her.

However, Zidane wouldn't have any of that. He charged right into battle alongside Freya to help her out however he could. He swung the Ogre down, aiming for Beatrix's head apparently, but was deflected by her saber. Freya tried to take a swing at Beatrix as well, but was also deflected. Beatrix was just too fast.

"Climmhazard!" Beatrix shouted. Suddenly, a huge explosion emitted from Save the Queen. Lines of fire and heat burst forth from the tip of Beatrix's sword in the shape of a sphere, knocking Zidane and Freya back. Zidane flew a few feet in the air before crashing to the ground and sliding along it a short distance. Freya was driven straight into a wall.

As soon as they were out of the way, Beatrix immediately turned her attention to me. She held herself low and vaulted at me, bringing her sword low. If she hadn't telegraphed her move so much, I probably wouldn't have blocked it at all. Instead, I only deflected it a little. Beatrix immediately began swinging her sword at me, probing my defenses for a weak spot. It was everything I could do just to keep from getting cut open by her. Time and time again, my short sword deflected her attack, only to have another one coming right after it. I cold barely keep up.

_Get angry_, I desperately told myself. The only way I was going to win this fight was with magic. _Get angry, get angry, get angry, get angry!_

Unfortunately, I was only distracting myself. I wasn't able to block an attack and Beatrix managed to cut into my right arm. Even worse, she managed to cut into my bicep. I dropped my short sword as an immeasurable wave of pain shot into my nerves. Beatrix finished her assault with a kick to my jaw. She was much stronger than she looked because she sent me tumbling backwards a good ten feet. I landed in a puddle, gripping my arm in pain.

Beatrix didn't waste any time trying to finish me off. She ran up to my side and twirled her sword around in her hand, ending with it backwards in her grip. She probably would have killed me there, if not for one thing. Our little mage.

Instead of killing me, Beatrix was caught off guard by Vivi's Thundara spell. A thick bolt of lightning coursing through the air and meeting her body. It was soon joined by three simultaneous bolts coursing along the same path, intensifying the heat and electrical discharge of the attack onto her form. If I wasn't so hurt, I probably would have smiled.

As soon as the attack was over, Beatrix stood up like nothing had happened. There was a slight frizz in her hair now, but beyond that, nothing seemed to change. The Alexandrian narrowed her one eye and looked fiercely at Vivi.

"Vivi, run!" I tried to yell, I could only look on in horror as Beatrix brought her sword close to her chest and powered up another attack. I recognized the stance and struggle to my feet to stop it. Unfortunately, I put too much weight onto my right arm and collapsed onto the ground again.

I was too late to stop her.

"Shock!"

The energy Beatrix had gathered into her sword was unleashed onto Vivi's small body. His chest blew open and blood splattered through the air. He was knocked backwards where his body bounced along the ground like a helpless doll's before finally coming to a stop face down in the dirt.

"VIVI!"

Beatrix turned her cold eye to me. "Now, you die, you-"

"Lancer!"

Beatrix was cut off as Freya unleashed a devastating Dragon skill on Beatrix. A well-aimed swing of her spear hit the general on the back in a dazzling display of colors and power. The cut thrashed Beatrix and knocked her forward, where she tripped over me. Freya quickly gave me a hand to help me up, which I took with my left hand. My right hand was in too much pain to use, not to mention the muscle damage it had taken.

"You…will pay for that," Beatrix snarled as she came back to her feet. She assumed another stance for another attack, but had to back out of it quickly when Zidane came in again. He swung his first attack down hard, missing Beatrix by mere inches. She backed up and raised her sword to swing again, but Zidane managed to block in time.

Freya, not being one to stay out of a fight, ran back in to help. I stayed where I was, partially due to fear, but mainly because I knew that I wouldn't be able to help much because of my ruined arm. As Freya pressed her assault, with little apparent gain, Zidane jumped back, ending up at my side. He was breathing heavily, no doubt going on overdrive just to keep up with the deadly general.

"Take this," he panted, handing me a potion. I didn't need another second. I took the vial from him and drank its contents in a second. Soon enough, the muscles of my arm reconnected and the wound closed, but the intensity of the moment made it seem much longer than it actually was.

"Thanks," I said, although it was probably out of place. We needed to concentrate everything we had on this fight. Nothing else. Fighting monsters was easy. They were single minded and had little in the way of tactics. Humans were different. They could wield almost any kind of weapon in any kind of fighting style with any kind of magic to assist them. There were too many factors and not enough clues. We just had to go in and be better than our opponent in this kind of fight.

Freya had been putting Beatrix on edge for the last few seconds. As unimpressive as it was for most fights, in this one, it made you one of the best fighters alive. However, it wasn't to last. Beatrix took one quick stab and managed to pierce Freya's chest, cutting deep into her armor and badly wounding her. Another Climmhazard roared in the air, sending Freya back. She flew passed Zidane and landed in a puddle, motionless.

"No! Freya!" Zidane called. I only stood in silent rage. Seeing two of my friends get mortally wounded was driving me over the brink into madness. So much anger was built up in my chest that I was starting to get a headache. I held my short swords offensively and broke into a run.

There was so much energy sealed in my chest that it seemed to seep into my short swords on its own. They were all powered up and ready to go. I just had to get close enough to use it.

Instead of fighting defensively, Beatrix tried attacking me. She swung her sword down hard, but I blocked it. I thrust with one sword out at her stomach, but missed. Still, I didn't need to stab an enemy to use Pulse. I just needed them to be close to the tip of the blade, and Beatrix was definitely close enough.

As confident as I was at first, my enthusiasm soon died down. I sent a wave passed Beatrix, but she dodged it all too easily. Still, seeing this new kind of magic seemed to startle her. I swung again, this time trying to hit her with the flat of the blade and using another Pulse early.

I sent the energy out of the blade as it flew at Beatrix, but she jumped back, leaving me with an attack that hit nothing. I pulled myself back to begin another assault, but apparently, Beatrix would have nothing of it. She threw down her sword at the ground and let off another Climmhazard. The sudden explosion took up all of my senses and knocked me back. I landed right next to Zidane, who knelt down to help me up.

"Are you ok?" he asked as soon as I was sitting up again.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, looking out at the battlefield again. To my horror, Beatrix was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, where'd she go?"

"You fools are no match for me!" came a cry behind us. I only had half a second to turn around before Beatrix unleashed her final attack upon us. Somehow, she had been able to run behind us and had enough time to power up another attack before I could even get to my feet.

"Stock Break!"

Beatrix swung her sword at the ground again, but instead of an explosion, several multi-colored ribbons sprouted from the ground. I had less than a second to admire them though, as one of the ends of those ribbons came out at me. One end pierced my chest, cutting through my armor and sinking deep. I didn't need to look over to know that Zidane had the same thing happen to him too. The attack just barely missed my heart, but it still did enough nerve damage.

I fell to the ground, short swords in hands, and a stunned look upon my face. In less than two minutes, Beatrix had wiped us all out.

"How ridiculously weak," Beatrix scoffed. She flung her wet hair behind her as she sheathed her sword and began to walk away. "Isn't there anyone who is worthy of facing me?"

The rain fell upon my face, but it was soft. So soft that I could barely feel it after a few seconds. I couldn't help but wonder if this was what death was like.

I looked to my side. Zidane wasn't moving. Blood was beginning to soak though his shirt right above his chest where his heart was. Was he dead?

I looked down. Freya wasn't moving. She was badly burned and probably had a concussion. Was she dead?

I looked to my other side. Vivi was lying face down in a puddle of his own blood. He had been like that longer than any of us. Was he dead?

I couldn't help the tears that came to my eyes. I knew it was going to be bad, but I wanted above all to live through it along side my friends. The rest of the storyline was going to mean nothing if they weren't there by my side.

_Beatrix… you bitch… I'll kill you…_

"_Like I said before, you're too weak_," Kaiten's voice came. I was too weak to argue back. He had a point, I was too weak, but I wasn't about to let my friends die alone. Anyone could call me a fool for my actions, but they couldn't call me a coward.

"_You're body's not even that badly damaged_," Kaiten continued. "_Why don't I give it a try?_"

Before I knew what was going on, a red, translucent light came from the corners of my eyes and took over all of my vision. My thoughts were becoming fuzzy as my mind lost control of itself. My muscles seemed to relax on their own, like someone was holding them for me.

The world started bleeding again…

Freya

Beatrix's attacks had been more powerful than any attack I had ever seen before. Not only had Zidane, Trevor and I been knocked to the ground and taken out of the battle, it seemed like I was the only one who could even move. I knew that I was badly injured, so the first thing I did was slip a potion into my mouth and silently thank Zidane for suggesting that we search through the storage room we found.

Vivi was laying face down in the cobblestone. Zidane was unconscious a few feet away from me. Trevor had been knocked onto his back and was now bleeding onto the ground through his back.

…At least, he had been.

As the rain fell, I struggled to lift my head and watch as Trevor, once again stood up and held his weapons aloft. Somehow, either by pure determination or pure luck, he was ready for combat once more. I would have called him a fool for continuing to fight a hopeless battle if I had the strength for it. He simply stood his ground and prepared for more fighting.

Unlike before, however, Trevor was smiling widely. And what's more, his eyes had somehow changed color. The whites of his eyes were now blood red, just like they were the day Trevor fled from us on the King Ed plains. I could only stare in wonder and horror as he flashed a demonic smile at General Beatrix. She turned, bored at first, but stunned a second later as she saw Trevor standing once more after her devastating attack.

"Alright bitch," Trevor said with a demonic glare. "It's _my_ turn."

----------------

Book 1: Issues- Complete.

Book 2: Anger- Coming soon.


End file.
